


Mate To My Soul

by hoonhao_love



Series: #hyunlixissuperior [5]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-01-23 09:43:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18547222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoonhao_love/pseuds/hoonhao_love
Summary: A fluffy soulmate story with no real plot (yet).





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't proof read this, so if any mistakes, just ignore it, thank! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Every individual has a unique scent. Somewhat like wolves. Only your soulmate can smell your scent, for other's you smell like a normal being. If you love drowning yourself in deodorants, then you smell like a walking deodorant shop to the people around you. _Good thing about this?_ Even if you've not taken bath for 17 days and smell like a rotten egg, your soulmate won't know. But you might lose some friends because of your stinking self. Of course, there are exception to this soulmate system too, just like every other.

Some people are born with no scent or no sense of smell, making it hard for the said individual to find their other half. For some other's, their 'soulmates' weren't their other half. Instead of completing them, they destroyed each other.  
Like say, there's this person A who lives on getting stoned or drunk. Say they meet their soulmate, person B, who also happens to be a stoner. For them, it's perfect. For the world, it isn't. They're not helping each other to grow, they're killing one another.

And yeah, there are the rebels who don't want to meet their soulmate and even if they do meet, they act like total douchebags saying how they don't wanna get hurt, but end up hurting their soulmate in the process.

 _Whatever_ , Felix thought. To each their own. For Felix... well lets say it was a little different. His parents fell under the category of ' _instead of completing, they destroy one another_ '. And, no, they didn't do drugs. They were normal people, living in the middle class side of the city. But they never worked out. According to them, they simply weren't made for each other.  
They divorced when Felix was just 5, still getting used to having his parents fighting. Chris, Felix's older brother, was his parent figure, always there for him when he had a nightmare or when he wanted to listen to bedtime stories.

After divorce, Chris was under his Mom's custody while he was left with his Dad.  
His dad wasn't the best choice, per say. First, he made little Felix believe that his mom was a monster for separating him from his brother. And later, forced him to promise not to get attached to his soulmate, because _Felix_ _they're just douches out there to ruin your life._ His father was hardly home, always working to gain international fame for his nationally famous company. He grew up with just himself for a company. Sometimes his father got soo busy he forgot his son couldn't cook and they didn't have a maid. As a parent, Felix's father failed. But as a money bank, he succeeded. He made sure that his son's credit card had money in it, he made sure his son had the latest gadget. But he forgot that Felix was a human, craving for attention and love.

This worsened when they had to move to Korea.

He was lost. He didn't know Korean but his father didn't think much of it. He simply admitted Felix in one of the most prestigious schools and let him to fend himself, like a sheep in the area of wolves. He became _the_ joke. He became the guy-who-doesn't-know-korean. It didn't help that he had freckles, which kids thought were some sort of ugly thing. He was tiny, scrawny kid with little to no knowledge of Korean. His voice was cracking too, making him sound like some sort of failed experiment. _He was tired._

Dark days. Those weren't the days he'll like to think or remember. Felix's dad was now dating another women who had the same beliefs. It sucked, but as long as they didn't interfere in his love life, it's okay. His dad lived with her, coming home once in a blue moon. Felix dreaded those days, but he made sure to drown himself in school work. Other days he ended up crashing at either one of his three friend's house ( _they were true angels, sent by God to rescue his non-korean ass_ ). Their parents became his, their sibling became his. He liked it though. He felt a sense of security around them.

In freshman year, Felix didn't like talking about soulmates, his friends instantly catching onto the fact that it was one of the sensitive topics. They never forced him to tell them about it, but felix had spilled it one day when he showed up to school with fresh bruises. They always supported him for his decisions, while Felix never made snarky comments when his friends met their other halves.  
He never made a snarky comment, maybe because, deep inside, he believed in it. Deep inside that child Felix wished he met his soulmate too. But that Felix was forced to be buried deep inside where he merely became a passing thought.

\--------------

 

Sophomore was hard. Especially if you were a non-korean with over a little ability to speak, understand, write and read Korean. Felix struggled ten times more than his other fellow classmates. It was not only his weakness when it came to Korean, but his home life wasn't too good either. He was still surprised he had managed to clear freshman year ( _thanks to Woojin, Seungmin and Jeongin, love you guys_ ). 

His father, in all honesty, should be proud of him for coming this far. But instead, he called him nasty things for not being able to come in first five ( _"Learn something from that Kim kid, you son of a bitch." "Dad, I'm trying-" "Then try more harder! Be happy I agreed on taking you in instead of sending to some orphanage.")_

He was soo close to quiting. He didn't know what to do with himself or with his thoughts or with his life. His friends tried very hard to get him back to normal, for him to smile and shine like the true ray of sunshine he was. But they all failed miserably. It was as if there was no way out of the the dark corner Felix had found himself in. 

  
What changed? What made Felix believe in soulmates again?

Exactly a month before their finals, he was scented.

Scented: an individual's body part begins smelling like their soulmate. With the help of this smell, they're expected to find their other half.

Woojin always said his soulmate smelled like some fresh cut grass, which was nice sometimes but sometimes disappointing too. Like what does freshly cut grass even represent? How is that supposed to represent his other half?  
( _"Maybe he's a murderer, hyung! Freshly cut-" "Okay, shut up Seungmin."_ )

Jeongin, back then, wasn't scented either. Seungmin said his smelled like roses. He was the happiest since roses represented love. So he hoped his soulmate would also be hopelessly romantic. That only made Felix and Jeongin take a piss out of Seungmin whenever they found him daydreaming with a dopey smile.

Felix's soulmate smelled like Jasmine. His soulmate was expected to calm him down. At least, that's what Google said. He was unhappy at the turn of events. He was in a dark place, and now to add to it, the whole scenting had to happen. He had smelled it only 4 or 5 times, just to confirm that it wasn't someone's Cologne that had gotten on his wrist. But the smell was still present even after he had ( _almost_ ) managed to rip open his wrist, by scrubbing.  
( _"That's gross on so many levels!" "Felix, you're being over dramatic." "and gross."_ )

Woojin, like the angel he is, tried reasoning for the coincidence.  
"Maybe it isn't just a coincidence? You could've scented whenever but it happened only when you weren't able to find yourself, Lixie! Maybe it's a sign from the universe. Or even maybe from your other half. "

"Yeah," Jeongin had exclaimed from the other side of the couch, "I had read if one's emotions are strong enough, it's possible for your soulmate to feel them too! And maybe, just maybe, Lix, it's their way of telling you they're with you!"

"Great! Now I'm not only burdening three people, but another individual who has no clue as to why they suddenly feel like just killing themselves!" Felix had yelled out of pure frustration, pacing in Jeongin's room. He kicked a random paper ball lying around on the carpet. If it was his house, he would've smashed everything his hands could lay on.

Before he could do anymore damage to other harmless and useless things, Seungmin grabbed him, forcing Felix to look at him. His face wasn't that of a bubbly person. He was serious, eyes hard, lips set in a straight line, bangs a bit messy. He wasn't going to kid around or try making Felix's mood lighter. Not today.

Seungmin's eyes scrunched a little, something akin to disbelief masking his any other emotions, "What do you mean by killing yourself, Felix? Mind explaining?"

Felix stood frozen. Yeah, he had those thoughts, but he didn't want to dish out more stress to his friends than he already did. They didn't deserve this. They were all parts of sun, radiating positivity and energy. They didn't need to know about Felix's dark side. So, he had kept mum about it. Not uttering a single word regarding his dangerous thoughts.

"I," he gulped. No, this wasn't what he had planned when he accepted their offer to hang out with them.  
Seungmin continued looking at him though, eyes unwavering and cold. It became eerily quiet. He couldn't hear Jeongin rustling the blanket he had manged to wrap himself in, he couldn't hear Woojin chewing a gum. Hell, he couldn't even hear himself breathing.  
On instinct he kept his hand on the heart only to feel the light _thump_ of his heart. Felix didn't know why he put his hand on the heart. Either maybe because he really wanted to know if he was alive or if this was all just a dream. He doesn't know nor does he care because neither was he dead nor was he dreaming. So he won't be escaping this topic. He sighed. He didn't want to be a burden. He wanted to be independent, be able to care of himself. He didn't want to be a baby.

He sat down heavily next to Jeongin, who was quick to wrap Felix in his blanket, pulling him close to himself.  
"If I've known you long enough, Lix, you didn't tell us because you didn't want to be a _burden._ Am I right?" Jeongin whispered. But felix was sure the remaining two had heard this anyways, it was pindrop silent in the room after all.  
He stiffened as he saw Woojin and Seungmin approach him from the corner of his eyes. But let out a deep sigh in defeat. There was no point in denying or lying now. So instead, he relaxed and made space for the two on the tiny couch.

"I'm just... tired. I don't know what I'm doing with life, why I'm doing what I'm doing and just... I'm just lost and stressed all the time. I just keep running away from everything hoping it'll go away and it'll leave me alone. Dad is being a bastard too, hitting or calling me things for not being able to raise my scores! I'm trying, I'm trying! It's not easy for me to take in everything and master a language in just two years... I'm soo tired. I feel like just quiting, ending all this," he spat out in one breath. He wasn't sure if he was coherent or not, he just wanted it out of his system. He blabbered away, getting everything off his chest. It was like pushing toxic out of your body. The more he shared the lighter he started feeling.

He slumped back into Jeongin's embrace. Ranting was tiring. Woojin let out a sad _aww_ and pushed himself and Seungmin on Felix, trying to wrap his arms around the three of them. "Felix, we're your not only _best friends,_ we're your _family._ We willingly take care of each other. We're here when we need each other. You've come so far, darling. You just spoke so much and your vocabulary has grown too! We're so proud, Lixie. You can call us whenever you want! Just reach us any-"

"You think I didn't try to reach any of you? Jeongin was grounded, so Seungmin was always trying to spend time at school with him. You're always out with your soulmate, who by the way we haven't met, because he's here only for a few weeks. I asked every one of you to hang out with me. But you guys were either busy with soulmates or school work." Felix mumbles, tears prickling his eyes. He didn't want to sound like a pathetic friend. He didn't want to come off as an a-hole. Yeah, he didn't believe in soulmates, but that didn't mean he was going to stand as an obstacle in his friend's love life.

Everyone stiffened because they never thought what Felix must be going through this all on his own. Even Woojin's hand started slipping slowly, the guilt talking over his emotions. But Felix didn't say that in an accusing manner. He told them so they'd know he did trust them and that he tried reaching out to them. He didn't hold a grudge against them for not having time for him. So he quickly held on to Woojin's hand, stopping it from retreating back to its owner. He looked up, Jeongin and Seungmin were staring at the floor, probably due to embarrassment. He didn't want it. Only Woojin was looking at him maybe because Felix held on to. He never meant to accuse them in first place.

"I'm not accusing you guys. It's okay, it was fine with it just being me. You guys have your love life and soulmates, so it's okay to spend time with them! I love you guys, please don't let this break our bond. I need you now more than any time. Just... Please."

Next thing Felix knows he's squeezed into most uncomfortable yet full of love group hug known to man kind.

_____________

  
One night Felix was laid on the bed, listening to any sound indicating his dad was back. His life seemed to have taken a pity on Felix. It wasn't that bad now. Woojin, Seungmin or Jeongin always accompanied him. He liked it. When Woojin was on a date, the other two would spend their time with Felix. When the other two were on a date, Woojin and he would spend time and would try cooking something new. Or go out for a game of basketball. He loved it. He wasn't cooped up in the house these days. He made sure to complete his homework in the school, so he had time to revise and go out to play. He had even planned to join different clubs of his interest, already asking about them to respective club leaders.

As he laid on the bed that night, he checked his wrist. It has been over months he had smelled the scent. He wanted to try it. Woojin's and Jeongin's words echoed in his head. Maybe they were right. Maybe his soulmate wouldn't be an a-hole. Maybe be it was really him assuring Felix that he'd be with him even in his dark time. Maybe, just like his scent, his soulmate is meant to keep him calm and peaceful? Who knows. He removed all the bracelets and bands from the wrist. He inspected his bare wrist, looking at it as if it was his soulmate.

 _Let's do it,_ he decided. It's not like his soulmate is going to know he was warming up to the idea of them in his life. He brought his wrist closer to his nose, taking in the smell.  
It was like some therapeutic drug, instantly calming his nerves and making his brain relaxed.

He wouldn't do justice to the scent if he were ever to describe the smell to anyone. Well, it was soft yet strong, calming him immediately but making he's heart race. It made him feel like he was floating, yet somehow kept him grounded. It made him lose himself in the smell, yet it made him feel like he had found himself.

He sighed in content. He felt like a new person over all. He felt like he was reincarnated as a new Felix Lee with new purpose and direction.  
He might have not felt or noticed it, but he slept through all the screaming downstairs, with a content smile on his face.

 _My soulmate will be a walking contradiction,_ Felix concluded smiling fondly.  
  


 


	2. Bang Chan, Who?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of being greeted with Woojin's voice, he was greeted with a different voice. He eyed the owner of the voice, seeing a boy of Woojin's age with silver, curly hair and one with the most friendly face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have nothing to say. 
> 
> I guess...... Enjoy?

  
Felix may not have been excited about being scented back then, but he was a curious child, so he had tried searching more about his scent. And like every one of us, he too had binge watched videos that may or may not have differed from the video he originally planned to watch.   
While binge watching he had come across a video which spoke about the smells that calmed an individual down. Lavender, Jasmine, cinnamon, peppermint and some other smells. During his research he had learnt many things. But one thing that stuck with him was the fact that smell is closely linked to memory, probably more so than any other senses. If you smell good, people tend to Remember you. And that was cool. Yeah, Felix liked that. He vaguely wondered if that had something to do with Soulmate bond. 

Since he was wary about the whole soulmate concept, he had covered his wrist with bracelets and bands so as to avoid smelling it. But as he warmed up to it, he took a full advantage of the calming scent. Whenever he felt like he might forget certain things, he took in the scent while studying that particular stuff. And, yeah, Felix can confirm that it works wonders.

Now, as he answered his last paper of his senior year, he went over the formula he had been trying to cramp up. He just couldn't remember it. He remembered it had sine and cosine, but how they were arranged, he couldn't remember.   
He glanced at the clock that showed Felix had exactly fifteen minutes to answer the question before the final bell rings. He groaned, only if he could remember. If he gets the formula, he is sure of scoring a full in this subject. Oh, but his brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate, drifting away to dreamland and thinking about the coming vacation. And stress of getting into his desired College.

 _Get your head in the game Felix,_ he scolded himself.

A voice inside his head _(which suspiciously sounded like_ _Woojin_ _, he's missing_ _Woojin_ _too much)_ told him to calm himself down. Which translated into take in the scent. So he did what (Woojin's) voice told him to do.   
He brought his wrist close to his nose, making sure he didn't look too suspicious, and then closed his eyes. He took a slow and deep breath and let it out through his mouth. His system and thoughts were quickly invaded by Jasmine scent.   
He wondered if his soulmate would be girl, because Jasmine isn't a smell you usually associate with a guy. And knowing himself well enough, Felix was sure he was going to be the baby in the relationship. He didn't hav-

_Yes! I remembered, okay, okay, let's write it down before I forget._

_Again._

And he quickly jotted down the formula and went on to work on it. Oh, how he wished his soulmate was a strong and independent male with right balance of maturity and humor.

______________

 

All four had planned to meet at Woojin's after their exams. Woojin was back in Daegu from the College for his semester break. And he wanted to spend that time with his younger friends.   
In a few days it was his and his soulmate Bang Chan's two year anniversary. Yet he had decided to drive down to his friends. Now that he had started college, he and Chan were always together. And he missed his friends. Especially Felix, who he had started to baby and treat like his own sibling. 

 

Chan had promised to visit them on their anniversary, so he could meet Woojin's friends as well.

 

Felix, as usual, was the last one to arrive.   
_("It's called being fashionably late, my dude." "Did we ask?")_

 

But as soon as he had entered Seungmin was quick to drag him across Woojin's bed stating how he had seen something 'quite interesting'. Felix was a curious kid at heart, so he indulged Seungmin. 

 

" Oh, yeah? Do tell us Minnie," he said as he got comfortable on the bed.   
Jeongin seemed like he already knew it, while Woojin looked amused at the two's antics. 

 

"I saw... Lixie smelling his wrist! During the exam!" he exclaimed as Felix froze mid action. He had made sure not to make it obvious. _Was I that obvious?_

 

"Wha- Come again?" Woojin yelled making his way towards his bed. He was eyeing Seungmin closely maybe to see if he was being funny. 

 

Felix groaned. It's not like it was a sensitive topic anymore. Accepted, his father was as shitty as he was when Felix was five, but that didn't change the fact that now Felix could make rational decisions. He didn't need his father to tell him what's wrong or right, he was old enough to know it himself ( _it's not like he's father knew what was wrong or right, in the first place)_. Just because his parents' marriage was a failure doesn't mean his would be too.   
Felix had whole two years to warm to the idea that he is destined to be with someone. That his soulmate might not be an a-hole. He didn't want to push them away just because he was being irrational. And foolish. 

 

"We saw Felix taking in the smell of his soulmate," Jeongin said crawling towards Felix with a smirk, as Felix moved back. Felix blushed. He was smelling it not because it smelled like his soulmate, but because he wanted to calm down. And remember the formula. Just. That. 

 

"That sounds so....creepy! Don't make me sound like that!" he exclaimed burning red from neck to ears. God, why was he friends with Jeongin? He lived to embarrass Felix. 

 

"Felix! You...what.? ..scent." Poor Woojin looked torn between being happy and being cautious. Woojin knew it had been a sore topic to Felix for years now and seeing Seungmin and Jeongin addressing it with casual tone made him confused. Did something happen in his absence? Felix saw the internal battle and he chuckled fondly. 

 

Instead of giving an all okay sign, he decide to yell "Woojin! I missed you! I love you!" and with that he threw himself on the older, who wasn't expecting this. Who were Seungmin and Jeongin to let the opportunity to cuddle as a complete group to slip away?   
In a few seconds Woojin found himself at the bottom of the human pile, getting squashed with not just weight but with love and warmth. Now, _this_ felt like home.

 

"Ohmygosh, let me breath!" Woojin yelled in english. Chan spoke in English to help Woojin with his, and he had caught the habit of speaking in english when he panicked. Felix quickly scrambled to his legs, throwing two other younger off of him. 

 

"Who have you been hanging out with?" Felix exclaimed as he cupped Woojin's face in his hand. Seungmin pushed Felix off the bed as a sweet revenge. But Felix had other things to take care of, so he quickly got up and sat besides Woojin who was spread across the bed. But he made sure to glare at the younger to let him know he wasn't off the hook. 

 

"Chan, obviously. Who else?" Woojin said looking at felix in a funny way. 

 

"Is he from Australia, by any chance?" he questioned. He doesn't know why but from the time Woojin had revealed his soulmate's name, Felix has been having the strong gut feeling that this Chan might actually be his Chris. After all his Mum's surname was Bang. 

 

"No? Not that I know of? He never said anything about Australia...Why though?" Woojin asked sitting up to look at Felix's hopeful face. 

 

"No, it's just, you sounded a bit Aussie..... I could detect that accent from any corner," he said, smiling bitterly. He wished to meet Chris. He wanted to meet Chris. He left hope the day he and his dad flew in Korea. But Woojin's soulmate brought back his hope in full force. 

 

"Never mind! Let's do something!!" he said instead, his sun like personality back in form. 

 

"Before we do anything, do tell us about your small activity we saw during exam, aye?" Jeongin prodded, wiggling his eyebrows. 

 

"Yeah, okay, fine!" Felix sighed in defeat, but he smiled softly as he thought about his soulmate, "I'm warmed up to the idea of soulmate, okay? I don't find it disgusting or, or waste of time. I'm kinda, looking forward to meet them?I'd like to meet them.. " he said giddily smiling and blushing profusely. 

 

"Aww, my baby grew up so well," Woojin cooed, bringing Felix into a warm hug and started planting kissed on his forehead. 

 

"Oh god."

  
"You're such a mother goose, Woo."

____________

 

Felix was flopped on Jeongin's back as the younger one laid on Seungmin's bed on his tummy. Seungmin was sitting on his desk chair, going though his social feed. ( _more like stalking his_ _kpop_ _bias,_ Felix thought). 

 

"Now that I think of it, Felix you do have a baby face. Like, I'm the youngest but I'm sure I'll pass as your older brother," Jeongin randomly spoke out, scaring Felix a bit.   
That caught Seungmin's attention too. 

 

"Yeah! You're the most fragile one amongst us. Woo looks like his age and we also look like our age. You look too young," Seungmin exclaimed, crawling on his bed to lay on Felix. 

 

Felix let out an _oof_ as Seungmin laid on him. But the weight was comfortable so he didn't complain. Sometimes he wonders if they were destined to be friends, since all four of them didn't mind clinging onto one another.   
Since, Seungmin and Jeongin were soulmates they were more often than not, always cuddled. Felix used to cuddle Woojin, but now he just throws himself on the couple because _guys, I feel lonely too!_

 

"I don't look a baby compared to you, if that's what you meant Jeon," Felix grumbled. Who was he kidding, an old lady had called him a disrespectful brat for cursing at his older brother and by older brother she meant Jeongin.   
It was safe to say, Felix and his baby face were the butt of the jokes for months. 

 

"No, like, one look at us and it's obvious we're way past the age for trick or treating, but you? You could go for trick or treat and no one would question your age!"

 

"You're being ridiculous, Seungmin," Felix scoffed, flicking his forehead lightly. 

 

"But you got what I'm trying to say..!"

 

"No, I didn't"

 

"Of course you won't! You're still a baby, Lix."

 

"Choke."

 

______________

 

_Besides excelling academically, are you talented in any other field?_

 

Felix stared at the question. He was trying to apply in Seoul's most prestigious college, the one Woojin was in. The questions were a little different than the one's he had answered in other college online forms.   
He scratched his head. It should be an easy one, yet he found himself thinking about the meeting he had to skip so that he would be home when his father comes back.   
He was excited to meet the infamous Bang Chan and finally get his doubts confirmed. Sure, he didn't remember much of his brother but it didn't hurt to try, right? 

 

His gut twisted in a nasty way, maybe telling him to go to the shop even if his dad is planned to drop by. He can always make an excuse regarding his sudden disappearance and it's not like he isn't used to getting yelled.   
So he closed the lid of the laptop and quickly walked towards his closet. 

He paused mid action. He was so caught up in the theory of Bang Chan might being His Chris, that he totally forgot about his soulmate. What if he was scheduled to meet his soulmate? What if his gut is directing him towards his assigned soulmate? That thought brightened his day and he searched in closet for better choice of clothes. If he is going to meet his soulmate, he might as well look nice. 

 

He grabbed a black hoody and blue pair of Jeans before dashing in bathroom. What if they sat next to one another? He didn't want to smell like a gym locker room, and smell is closest to memory. That way he'll have a good first impression. He was giddy and was feeling nauseated at the thought. As much as he can't wait to meet his destined one, he also can't help but feel a little scared. 

 

As Felix rubbed Lavender scented body wash on his chest, it struck him. He, too, was going to have a certain smell and so, to his soulmate, he is going to smell exactly like that, even if in real life he smells like a rotten fish.  
He groaned, but continued washing with a shrug. Might as well smell mice for everyone else. 

 

As he got out he checked his phone with intention of letting the guys know he'll be coming to meet Bang Chan. 

 

**_Fake Four_ **

 

**Minnie**   
I'll be late  
Gotta go grocery shopping for the dinner since y'all be coming  
Mom wants to make something special for Woo

 

**Bear** 🐻   
Oooh, noiceeee   
🙆

 

**TheBrat**   
I'm on my way, Woojin   
Oh, that's nice!   
Am I allowed to guess? 

 

**Fairy**  
No!   
And hey! Who changed my name?! 

 

**TheBrat**  
Serves you right -_-

 

**Fairy**  
You're being true to your username

 

**Bear** 🐻   
#justsaying 

 

**Minnie**   
Your dad is come? 

 

**Fairy**  
No, not yet

 

**TheBrat**  
Be safe and call us if anything happens, lix 

 

**Fairy**   
Yeah, regarding that......   
I'm coming to Café, I'm not staying here

 

**Bear** 🐻   
You're sure?   
I'd like that

 

**TheBrat**   
Yes, pls!   
We can help you come up with some excuse

 

**Minnie**   
Yeah, lixie   
Mom will talk to him if the need be

 

**Fairy**  
That's nice, you guys!   
Thank you 😊 😊 💕

 

**Bear** 🐻   
Chan is here  
When are you guys showing up?   
@Fairy @TheBrat

 

**Fairy**  
15mins

 

**TheBrat**  
Where are you?   
You're wearing blue dress shirt??? 

 

**Bear** 🐻   
Yup, come over  
Don't stand there like a lost deer

 

**Fairy**   
Why did Jeongin sound like he was judging Woo's clothing choice? 

 

**TheBrat**  
That's 'cz I was, lmao

 

**Bear** 🐻   
The brat

 

Felix chuckled and threw his phone on the bed, almost getting a heart again when it bounced. He grabbed a comb and ran though his hair, getting rid of the knots. He almost reached for the deodorant but decided against it. His body wash didn't smell bad either, so he decided to skip it.   
After searching the room for his lost phone' he remembered throwing it on the bed, his blue cased phone blending well with his blue bedsheets. After pocketing his phone, he searched around for his 'lucky' pair of socks.   
After pulling on the socks, he grabbed the wallet and house keys. He wasted a minute debating which pair of snickers he should wear and then proceeded to choose a completely out of question pair of Converse. Before making a run for the bus stop, he pulled the hood over his head, who knows his dad might actually spot him amongst all others. 

 

___________

 

He made it in twenty minutes, immediately going over to the counter to grab something to drink. After mulling over the menu for another minute he decided to ask Woojin about it. It's so hard being an indecisive person. Bless Woojin for not being the ' _it's your choice really_ ' Or ' _I don't know'_ type of a friend.

He turned around searching for a person wearing questionable blue dress shirt. And, honestly, it wasn't that hard to spot Woojin, sitting in a corner booth with his back towards Felix. Felix giggled too himself, Jeongin was right Woojin was indeed wearing the most ridiculous dress shirt he owned... He also remembers how he and Jeongin even planned on burning the article.   
( _"Does this thing even deserves to be called a shirt?" "It's a disgrace too humans." " And to_ _Woojin._ _" "....... And to us, too.")_

"Woojin what should I buy? I'm soo confuzzled!" Felix said as soon as he sat his ass down, across Woojin and next to Jeongin.

Instead of being greeted with Woojin's voice, he was greeted with a different voice. He eyed the owner of the voice, seeing a boy of Woojin's age with silver, curly hair and one with the most friendly face.   
"You really have grown into one of the most cutest human." Felix tilted his head his head in confusion... But he snapped his head right back when he understood the implications of Chan's words.

"Chris.." he whispered softly, stills too shook to function properly. Sure he had entertained the idea of Chan being his brother, but he never once, for some reason, taken it too seriously.   
He doesn't know what kind of an expression he is wearing right now, because Woojin and Chan seem to smile at fondly.   
" LeeFelix.exp has stopped responding. Do you wanna report, wait or close?" Jeongin muttered from next to Felix, who was still too immersed in finding his lost bearings. He couldn't believe his luck, couldn't believe he was really sitting in front of his Chris. His brother, who he only dreamt of meeting. It was like that fantasy, you know won't come true but wouldn't stop dreaming about it anyway.   
His eyes never left Chan, even as he got up from his position cross him to kneel down in front of still frozen Felix.   
Felix was staring at him, his face a canvas of emotions. Chan could see surprise, disbelief, happiness and relief dancing in his wide open eyes, his face doing very little in hiding anything.

Chan smiled once again. When he had first heard the name Lee Felix from Woojin he immediately thought of his long lost brother Felix. But then his name was Bang Felix, their mom's surname. And what were the chances of Chan meeting Felix again in Korea of all places. And it was close to impossible for his soulmate to be friends with his brother from Australia. Like that was some messed up coincidence, it would've have in a most iconic one if it were to happen. So he pushed the thought away. But now? As soon as Woojin had mentioned how Felix had asked if he was Australian by any chance, really had his gears churning once again. After losing his brother to pathetic excuse of a father, he had almost gotten in a mental institution due his constant nightmares each a variation if his father killing Felix.   
He's mom had sent him to Korea at the age of 12 to stay with his aunt and to get away from place which constantly served as a reminder to his brother's situation.

Now as he sat in front of a frozen Felix, he's face still chubby and cute, enhanced by his freckles, he couldn't stop himself from pulling Felix in for a hug. It was one of the most uncomfortable hug he had given anyone. But the warmth and love it held made it the best one.   
Felix was quick to respond to the hug, maybe the physical touch was all he needed to be sure that he wasn't dreaming. He threw himself in Chan's arms chanting the mantra of _'I missed_ _you's_ and ' _ohmygosh's_.

Woojin subtly dabbed his napkin under his eyes at the scene that was unfolding itself in front of him.

____________

  
By the time Felix made it home, high on happiness and adrenaline, his father was already there.   
As soon as he stepped inside, his father's voice boomed loud and clear in the empty apartment.

"Where have been to, Felix? Lost interest in studies?"

 _Oh Boi,_ Felix thought, _I forgot think of an excuse!_ In the excitement of meeting Chan he forgot about his father. And the excuse.

"I was gone-"

"I see that."

"-to post office! Post office, yeah," Felix exclaimed. _Why would you go to the post office, dummy?!_

"Why?" cane back the question. Felix sighed and made some hand gesture showing how annoyed he was.   
_Way to dampen my mood, dad!_

"I was expecting a letter from one of the college I applied to. But I didn't get. So I went to check if they had somehow misplaced it or something..... " he trailed off as his father came into his view.

He could smell alcohol off of his father.

" Well, son, I hope you do get that letter. Because I want to get rid of you." And with that he walked out the door, leaving Felix felling particularly annoyed.

___________

 

**AussieBro** **#2**  
Heyyyyyy   
I MISSED YOU  
I LOVE YOU

 

**AussieBro** **#1**  
I MISSED YOU MORE AND I LOVE YOU TOO/MORE

 

**AussieBro** **#2**  
Woo is getting jealous xD 

 

**AussieBro** **#1**  
Oh S H I T  
I didn't reply to his msg  
But I read it... Oops

 

**AussieBro** **#2**  
Looks like he'll killing you in your sleep  
*Audio clip*

 

**AussieBro** **#1**  
HOLY SHIT

 

**AussieBro** **#2**  
Hey 

 

**AussieBro** **#1**  
Yeas?

 

**AussieBro** **#2**  
Ik we just met after long time and all, and I really wished you could spend more time with me  
But anyways  
What funeral theme would u like, u know, after he kills you? 

 

**AussieBro** **#1**  
BrROSJSLA

 

____________

 

**WooBear**   
C H A N   
S T O P  
I G N O R I N G  
M E E E E E   
:/

 

**MySoul**   
I'm sorry  
Was catching up with Lixie 

 

**W** **ooBear**  
Who knew I was dating my little fairy's brother, aye? 

 

I'm sooo happy for both of you

  
**MySoul**  
Hey, why fairy?   
I've been gone for so long, I feel like a nobody

**WooBear**  
Don't be like that, he still loves as much as he did long ago  
He used to get bullied when he first got here, in korea  
Freckles were one of the reason  
Seungmin, instead, described them being fairy dust, magical and beautiful  
Hence Fairy 

  
**MySoul**  
You can't see me right now, but I'm CRYING   
I'm so glad Felix found y'all as friends

**WooBear**  
Me too  
Felix had us wrapped around his finger   
Hey  
Don't you think it's time we introduced our friends to one another...? 

  
**MySoul**  
I'll create a group chat

**WooBear**  
Well?   
What are you waiting for? 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment below and let me know what you thought of the story so far!


	3. Stray Losers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **ChanWoo(ed)**  
>  Okay, so me and Woojin decided it was time for my friends to meet his friends  
> (So, please for once, act sensible and introduce yourselves and not embarrass me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, they kinda get to know each other. Also, Felix is really cute??

 

 

_> Create a group_  
_> YES<_

 

 

_> Name the group_  
_> Stray Losers<_

 

 

_> Add people_  
_>_ _WooMe_ _was added_ _<_  
_> Fairy was added_ _<_  
_>_ _SeunGin_ _was added <_  
_>_ _JeonMin_ _was added_ <  
_>_ _PrinceCharming_ _was added_ <

_> Min was added <_  
_> Min(e)ho(e) was added<_  
_>_ _RapGod_ _was added <_

 

 

**ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
Okay, so me and Woojin decided it was time for my friends to meet his friends  
_(So, please for once, act sensible and introduce yourselves and not embarrass me)_

 

**WooMe**  
Do tell your majors too :)  
Channie, you go first

  
**ChanWoo** **(ed)**

I'll go first, even though all of y'all know me and Woojin  
I'm Bang Chan, double Majoring in Literature  
Woojin, go next

 

**WooMe**  
I'm Kim Woojin  
I'm Majoring in Vocals and minoring in Literature  
Lix, go next  
Lix??

  
**ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
HE IS ASLEEP CURLED INTO A FLUFFY BALL AND I'M CRYIN

 **SeunGin**  
You'll never get used to his cuteness, huh? 

 **JeonMin**  
I'll go next  
I'm Yang Jeongin  
Still applying for colleges!

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Oh!! Me toooo  
I'm Han Jisung  
But I'll be Majoring in Vocals (I hope) 

 **PrinceCharming**  
Chill ya asses down fellas

 **SeunGin**  
I'm also applying my dudes  
Name's Kim Seungmin

 **PrinceCharming**  
Im Hwang Hyunjin  
I'm doing Masters in Business

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
So are we all like 00liners?

 **JeonMin**  
I'm not :( I'm '01

 **SeunGin**  
ME AND LIXIE ARE!!!

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
OMG!!! I'M TOTALLY MAKING ANOTHER GROUP

 **PrinceCharming**  
I'm also a 00liner  
@ _Min(e)ho(e)_ forget me not, bro

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Got ya bro

 **Min**  
I'm Lee Minho  
Majoring in Dance

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
Now that the introductions were done smoothly, w/o any interrupts  
Go wild kids!

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Wait wait... Share your birthdays

 **Min**  
So we can establish the whole hyung line, maknae line

 **WooMe**  
Oh god

 **PrinceCharming**  
Don't  
Share  
It'll be fun finding out eventually!

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Then... At least insta username? So we can follow

 **SeunGin**  
_(and stalk one another)_

 **Min**  
LOL, true  
😂😂😂

 **JeonMin**  
😂😂😂😂

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Yes, ma dude!!!  
🙆🙆😗

 **WooMe**  
You all follow us

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
_(if you don't, then follow us @_ _KimWoo_ _and @big.bang.chan)_

 **Min**  
_minho_

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
j.one

 **SeunGin**  
KimMin

 **JeonMin**  
_j.yang_

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Ooooh we match

 **JeonMin**  
Ayeeeee

 **SeunGin**  
Stop hitting on ma man, bruh!

 **PrinceCharming**  
Y'all soulmates?  
Cool  
Follow me at @h.y.u.n.j.i.n

 **JeonMin**  
Yeah 💕💕

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Sweet  
Me and minho are soulmates

 **Min**  
Incase you didn't figure it out by his username

 **JeonMin**  
......

 **SeunGin**  
We didn't...?

 **WooMe**  
Oops xD

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
This shows its time to change your username!!

 **PrinceCharming**  
What's the name of 'lix'  
And username?? Hehe

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Are you interested?? 😏

 **WooMe**  
Let him introduce himself  
That'll be fun

 **PrinceCharming**  
Username at least?

 **JeonMin**  
Dude.. That's how desperate is spelled

 **PrinceCharming**  
oh shut up maknae

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
(maknae?) but daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

 **PrinceCharming**  
It says on his insta bio also stfu

 **Min**  
Jinnie out there actually stalking xD

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
But, yeah, it's desperate my dude

 **PrinceCharming**  
STFU  
Lix is a very different name so... I wanted to know  
And Chan kept on saying how cute Lix is.....

 **Min**  
And our Jinnie is weak for cute things

 **SeunGin**  
Awwee

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
If I ever see you flirting with my baby, you're done for HWANG HYUNJIN

 **WooMe**  
Your baby?  
He was my baby for the longest! WDYM?

 **SeunGin**  
Your baby?!

 **JeonMin**  
MY BABY!! FELIX LEE IS MY BABY

 **PrinceCharming**  
Okay, damn, bro  
Lee Felix 😏😏

 **WooMe**  
Wow Jeonginnie :/

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Are we allowed to send memes here??

 **WooMe**  
No

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
YES!!  
I mean no?

 **JeonMin**  
You bet!!!!

 **SeunGin**  
HELL YA MA DUDE

 **Min**  
No

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
So, we can  
:)))

 **SeunGin**  
XD  
I already like you

 **JeonMin**  
Me likey likey too

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
AYEEEEE  
Yeah!

 **Min**  
It's like Jisung just got multiplied

 **WooMe**  
xD  
You haven't yet met Felixie

 **SeunGin**  
Felicia is one dangerous women

 **JeonMin**  
Yup^^^

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Oh?  
I thought Felix was a boi...

 **Min**  
Hyunjin is gay....

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
My bro... Where you at?  
He isn't your senpai....

 **PrinceCharming**  
Is his username fe.lee.x????

 **Min**  
Felix isn't a guy....

 **JeonMin**  
Yesss that's his username  
And that was quite fast...

 **SeunGin**  
Lee Felix is a guy alright....  
*face palm*

 **PrinceCharming**  
OHMYHOLLYFUKITY

 **JeonMin**  
He Okay?

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Bro?

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
If you make any nasty comment....

 **WooMe**  
So? Isn't he the cutest fluff ball?

 **PrinceCharming**  
He is soo cute  
And he's freckles are like fairy dust...

 **SeunGin**  
Hey! I had said the same exact thing

 **PrinceCharming**  
Ummmmm..... You commented that thing on his post though? Hehe?  
@ _Min(e)ho(e)_ what if Im his senpai?? ;))

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
Hyunjin...

 **Min**  
Where is Changbin?

 **Min(e)ho(e)**  
Oh shiiuut

 

_______(next day)________

 

 

**RapGod**  
I'm glad you guys remembered me  
I'm so proud to call you all Losers my best friend

 

**WooMe**  
Hi binnie

 

**RapGod**  
Don't call me that  
And that wasn't expected from you Woojin  
You were supposed to remember me!!!

 

**Fairy**  
Hi?  
Woo what's this chat for?

 

**RapGod**  
Can't read or what fairy??

 

**WooMe**  
Bin, don't

 

**Fairy**  
Msgs aren't loading....  
I'm sorry?

 

**RapGod**  
I'm sorry  
Sorry for coming out at you like that

 

**PrinceCharming**  
Mind sleeping you fuck faces??  
I need my beauty sleep

 

**RapGod**  
I'm Seo Changbin  
Majoring in vocals and composition  
If you guys wanna follow you can @spearB

 

**PrinceCharming**  
Stfu Seo

 

**RapGod**  
I'm older then you duck face  
*duck

 

**PrinceCharming**  
Lol  
Jokes on you  
Now shut up

 

**RapGod**  
G  
E  
T  
U  
P  
H  
Y  
U  
N  
J  
I  
N

 

**PrinceCharming**  
Ohmagod fu k off

 

**Fairy**  
You don't sound like you'd be worthy enough to be my senpai  
And thanks, ik I'm cute

 

**Min(e)ho(e)**  
I'm casually walking past the guestroom (where hyunjin was crashing for the night)  
And suddenly hear loud screams  
Then I open the door  
And find a furiously blushing (read: embarrassed) Hwang Hyunjin

 

**Min**  
That hoe should've have seen it coming  
Always acting like he can have anyone being putty in his hand

 

**RapGod**  
Looks like only Felix can get him on a line

 

**WooMe**  
And have hyunjin being putty in his hands

 

**PrinceCharming**  
Pls  
Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep  
Humble request, good sirs

 

**RapGod**  
Damn

 

**Fairy**  
;)

 

**WooMe**  
Wow.... He's already become a gentleman....

 

**Fairy**  
;)

 

**Min(e)ho(e)**  
Are all Lee's this wickedly handsome Devils???

 

_Min changed their name to_ _LeeSr_ _._

 

_LeeSr_ _._ _changed Fairy to_ _LeeJr_ _._

 

**LeeJr**.  
Ayeeeee

 

**LeeSr**.  
Found my long lost brother!

 

**WooMe**  
He is actually Chan's long lost brother....

 

**LeeSr**.  
Welp  
I'm taking him in now

 

**W** **ooMe**  
I've never regretted something this bad

  
**RapGod**  
What dating Chan?

 **LeeSr** **.**  
We sympathise

 **ChanWoo** **(ed)**  
???? Wtf

 **WooMe**  
That's  
Not  
What  
I  
Meant  
You  
Fuckers

 _Min(e)ho(e) changed_ _PrinceCharming_ _to_ _#whipped_

 **#whipped**  
Dude! Noooooooooi

 **LeeJr** **.**  
;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, honestly, do love a whipped Hyunjin and a sassy Felix. Dad Chan, mama bear Woojin, annoying sibling Jeongin, annoying sibling's equally annoying boyfriend Seungmin, grumpy grandpa Changbin, and that PDA couple Minsung. 
> 
> There, that's the summary of this family. 
> 
> Also, love me please??? 
> 
> ~Jade


	4. Felix's Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know you're crushing on him and all, but please! I need to shower and get ready... Please?" Seungmin yelled, again, making every individual in the house aware of Felix's big, fat crush on Hyunjin. Goddamnit, Kim fucking Seungmin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't if I failed to make a few things clear or not, but here's a few things to take a note of:  
> 1\. Hyunjin, though '00liner, is a year ahead of other three.
> 
> This chapter:  
> 1\. Hyunjin and Seungmin are business management students, same uni, but Seungmin is Junior  
> 2\. Rest all go to the same college as Felix, though different majors. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Just as Felix started to wake up, the first thing he felt was the warmth on the side of his face, his face exposed while his body wrapped up in the blanket. It was the kind of  the warmth that is comfortable, he noted sleepily, far from making one sweat buckets and and the kind which makes one smile unintentionally. Of course, Felix only noticed the warmth part, not the smile he was sporting.   
He snuggled into the blankets, willing himself to sleep more. But his brain had kicked into action, instead of relaxing. He couldn't hear anyone moving around or clashing of utensils, so he assumed everyone were still asleep. He eyed the clock, hour hand on eight, minutes hand closing up on digit 1 while the seconds hand ticked away without a care in the world. _Well, the world did revolve around it_. 5 minutes past 8 o'clock wasn't too early in the morning for Felix.

He groaned as he stretched like a cat on his bed, smile blooming on his chapped lips. He could feel his tensed muscles relax as he stretched even more. Just as he stretched to the maximum capacity he felt a jolt of pain passing through his left leg, which made him to curl into a ball, groaning lowly. He forced his eyes close and waited, unmoving, for the pain to subside. He almost drifted back to sleep when he jolted awake, his body reacting suddenly as he dreamt of falling off a cliff. Blinking again, he smacked his lips together, gulping down the wish to lay in the bed for the remainder of the day. On moving the legs once again, he couldn't  feel the pain, just residual ache. He stretched again, this time with gentle care in the position he placed his leg and the way twisted to free some knots in the back and slowly swung his legs off the bed, almost tumbling face first from the bed when the left leg got stuck in the blanket.   
After he was sure that all the muscles and joints were stretched enough to endure a journey to the bathroom across his room, he stood up. Letting out a yawn, he went through his to do list in his head and dragged himself to collect his clothes.

It was Friday and Felix had only one lecture today, which was at noon. It was convenient for him. His lecture would get over at 1.30pm along with the others and then he could have  lunch with them. So far this week he had lunch with everyone only once - on Wednesday. Monday he had lunch with Minho, since they had dance club meet before lunch. On Tuesday and Thursday he had lunch with Jeongin and Jisung.   
Only a week in at St. Peterson's and Felix had managed to make a ton of friends, majority had interest in him because of his beauty or his brain. But the only ones who liked him for who he was, for his personality were Chan's friends, Minho, Jisung, and Changbin - while we're here he wants to mention how he's comfortable with each of them, how he doesn't mind Jisung's obnoxious habits, Minho's sassy ways and Changbin's intimidating and cold personality. He likes them all from the bottom of his heart, maybe because they had a group chat and he had gotten to know them before he even knew which college he'd be going. Maybe because they knew how awkward and clumsy Felix was and yet accepted him like one of their own.

He set the clothes and towel, he had managed to grab while deep in thoughts, down on the bathroom counter as he waited for the water to reach the right temperature. He planned on taking a scalding hot shower since his muscles ached and felt a lot stiff. _That's what happens when you're trained like you're Majoring in dance,_ Felix decided.   
All other fellow first years were Majoring in dance (smart choice, Felix now realized). Besides him there was another student Jisung Park who too was minoring in dance. Whenever they'd be on a water break, these two would huddle together to discuss about their wrong choice of minor. Best part of the break time talks was that they knew how passionate both of them were about dancing. And both knew that they were simply humouring the talk and didn't mean any of what they said.

__________

  
There was a knock on his door just as Felix shut off the shower. "I'm done, a minute please!" he sang out. He quickly proceeded to dry himself, making sure to dry his hair properly. He was in a good mood after the hot shower, maybe because he could feel his muscles sending him their blessings for his right choice of water temperature. Or maybe be he really didn't know why. He felt like if he concentrated enough he'd start floating, he was feeling that light. His heart beating a little too much, his brain coming up blank for the reason as to why Felix felt like this. He was on cloud nine, to put it lightly.

"Lix, hurry up! I gotta shit!" Felix heard Seungmin slur out, still in a sleepy state. He hummed fondly, however much he bickered with Seungmin, Seungmin was still closest to his heart.

\-- _Wait a minute._ Bells started to go off in his head as soon as he realized Seungmin was sleeping all this time. As far as Felix remembered, Seungmin had a 9 O'clock lecture on Fridays and judging by Seungmin's slow paced morning routine, he has yet to realize that too.

After dumping his wet clothes and towel in the laundry basket, he opened the door with the intention to get Seungmin to hurry up. Seungmin's loud yelp greeted him when he pulled the door open, before he realized that the younger male was leaning on to the door. Thanks to his reflexes, he caught Seungmin before he kissed the ground and broke a few teeth. Cursing Felix and his stupid timing, Seungmin straightened himself out. While glaring at smaller boy, he grumbled how he thought he would fall and die. Felix rolled his eyes at his best friend's dramatics and apologized, his mood not a bit affected.

"You do realize what time it is, Min?" he asked in hopes that Seungmin would snap out of his sleep induced state. But Seungmin only patted his head and muttered a, "It's about 8.20. Why?"   
Felix stepped out to give Seungmin some privacy (and save himself from some stink bombs. He has heard from Jeongin that they're quite deadly).

"It's Friday, Minnie"

"...... So? "

" What time your first lecture starts?"

"On Friday it starts at... Oh fuck! It starts at 9! Shit, shit, Lix."

Felix cringed at Seungmin's loud and panicked outburst. He sounded like he was shitting himself at the realization -well, Seungmin was shitting literally. Thats- that's not what Felix meant, okay? _Don't distracts him!_

Anyways, where was he? _Right_. "Hurry up and maybe you can make it on time, Minnie!" Felix softly advised, knowing how fuzzy minded Seungmin gets when he's panicked.

"The bus I usually take is at 8.30 and by the time I'll get ready and reach the stop, it would be gone. And the next bus is at 9!" Seungmin exclaimed, sounding like he'd start crying at any time now.

Felix tsked and scratched at his head, trying to think of a way to first calm Seungmin down. His thoughts somehow wonder to Hyunjin ( _who is he kidding,_ _his thoughts have been revolving around_ _Hyunjin_ _since morning_ ). Eyes widening and face lighting up, he clicked his fingers at the idea. "Why don't you ask Hyunjin he if could pick you up?"

"I don't wanna be a bother, though. What do I do, Felix?" Seungmin wailed - dramatically or genuinely, Felix has no idea.   
From what Felix could recall, Hyunjin and Seungmin had early morning lectures on Friday. Hyunjin had made a point to grumble about it on the first day when he had got his timetable.   
So he was sure, Seungmin wouldn't be a bother to him.

"Either you call Hyunjin or you get late. Plus, it's not like Hyunjinnie will have to go out of his way to collect you. He has a morning lecture as well and our place is on the way to Uni." Felix reasoned, really wanting his friend to just stop overthinking every little thing.

Seungmin groaned, and Felix doesn't want too know real reason for it, "But still what if -,"

"Don't be stupid, you won't  be a bother. If you think you might be burden, then text and ask, genius," Felix said, making his way to the kitchen to put together some breakfast for Seungmin. _Breakfast is the important meal of the day,_ he internally sang, immediately wondering what was wrong with him.

"Felixie!" Seungmin yelled from the bathroom, the door still slightly ajar. Felix only spared a look in the general direction, and took out the eggs. He carefully placed them on the counter, so that he could talk to Seungmin without waking the other occupants. But he paused in the middle, he shrugged, and picked  up a pan instead. It's almost 8.30 and all need to wake and start getting ready for their respective classes anyways. No reason for them to keep it low.

"Yeah?" he yelled back, equally loud. They might as well serve as an alarm clock and wake everyone up with their loud yells.

"Please text Hyunjin and ask if he could pick me up?"

Felix groaned, almost breaking the egg hard enough to spill on the counter instead of on the pan.   
Seungmin wasn't  helping him with his stay-away-from-your-crush-and-you'll-get-over-it plan. _Damn you, Kim_ _Seungmin_ _._

A minute later the sound of the flush was heard, and Felix let out a sigh of relief. At least now Seungmin would text Hyunjin and Felix could go on with his plan. He happily flipped the egg on to the plate and went to put the bread into the toaster, so that by the time Seungmin would be out, they'd be done.

"I know you're crushing on him and all, but please! I need to shower and get ready... Please?" Seungmin yelled, again, making every individual in the house aware of Felix's big, fat crush on Hyunjin. _Goddamnit_ _, Kim fucking_ _Seungmin_ _!_

Groaning loudly, Felix lightly banged his head in a lieu of responding back. How much time texting takes? Less than time needed for Chan to jump on Woojin. _Okay,_ _eww_ _, why did he think of that._

"You're crushing on Hyunjin? How cute is that?" Felix heard Chan fanboying behind him. He turned around and made a face at Chan, who only wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when Felix glared at him in return.   
Felix's demeanour changed in flat 0.05seconds and he had plastered a bright smile. " Chan!" he exclaimed dramatically, "Why don't you text Hyunjin? As you can see, this poor, little brother of yours is busy cooking," he said and proceeded to gesture to the half cooked egg on the pan and the toaster with he bread inside.

"Is that Woojin? I think Woojin is calling me, gotta bounce," Chan excused himself and took off before Felix could point out that Woojin had just passed from behind him.  
Felix was left to deal with breakfast and texting his crush. _He loves his family._

__________

 

Hyunjin was a little too perfect for Felix's liking. It wasn't a bad thing, really. But Hyunjin wasn't his soulmate, so he couldn't accept his feelings for a certain Korean. Yeah, Hyunjin and Felix flirt and bicker like old married couples, that doesn't mean they're meant for one another. Maybe he'll end up like his parents. His heart will be beating for Hyunjin and he'll be left trying to love his soulmate.   
He was trapped and lost, not knowing what he was to do exactly. He was destined to be with someone and he can't go against the law of the Almighty and get involved with someone else. His parents, though fated to be together, never worked out, so he should be skeptical about the system and should make a vow of loving someone who makes him happy. But he has seen the love blossom between Jeongin and Seungmin, he has seen Woojin's mood lifting up easily whenever Chan was around, he has felt the amount of love that radiates from Chan for Woojin, he has watched Minho fretting over Jisung skipping a meal. When he has watched so many relationships bloom to life, how can he hold a grudge against the system? It's a rhetorical question, he can't. 

 

Maybe Hyunjin is someone who makes Felix feel things he hasn't experienced yet personally, makes him happy just by listening to the older boy rant about his day, and maybe that's the reason he wants to stay close to Hyunjin. His heart always skips a beat whenever Hyunjin calls to check up on him, when he texts Felix saying how he saw a puppy and thought of Felix. How can Felix not believe that you don't have to be soulmates to make one another happy? How? 

 

But then again, Hyunjin and he have never reached to a point where they felt like sharing their view about soulmates. He doesn't know what Hyunjin thinks about these bonds, doesn't know if he has met his _the one_ or he hasn't. What if Hyunjin finds his soulmate and leaves Felix for them? Then what would Felix do? 

 

He doesn't want to stop waiting for his soulmate just because he finds someone else attractive. He wants to wait for the one fated for him, wants to give his other half a chance and work things out. He wants to bask in the other's calming scent, feel his other's emotions and get to know them like the back of his palm. He wants all this and that, he decides, is more than enough of a reason to wait and not rush. 

Grabbing the abandoned phone from study desk, he plops down on the bean bag by the foot of the bed. Pulling out his chat with Hyunjin, he sends a simple _hi_ before getting ready to walk back to the kitchen. He hopes Hyunjin will see his message soon. 

 

> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Heyyyy
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  💓  
> Hey loveeeee
> 
> ~~**Hyun's Lix** ~~   
>  ~~Jesus Christ stop boi my heart~~

Felix was pleasantly surprised that Hyunjin replied this quickly to his text. Not wanting to raise his hopes or lead himself on with the false hopes, he tried to convince himself in vein that Hyunjin must be already on the phone, hence the quick reply. _Well good for_ _Seungmin_ _._

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Must be my luck day
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Huh, why so?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  You texted me so early in the morning  
> 😭😭❣
> 
> ~~**Hyun's Lix** ~~   
>  ~~STOP FLIRTING WITH ME GODDAMNIT~~
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Must be my bad if I remembered you this early in the morning
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  💔💔💔💔  
> WHY YOU GITTA PARADE ALL OVER MY MOOD, FELIX!!!!
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  So sorry Jinnie  
> Anyways,  
> What I wanted to ask was did you leave already?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  No, not yet  
> Still having breakfast  
>   
> 

Ah, that explains his quick reply. _Stupid me_ , Felix thought, _here I thought he replied this quick because it was me!_  
He shook his head and got back to texting when his phone vibrated. 

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  What happened?
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Would you mind dropping by our place?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Why, what happened?  
> Are you okay?!
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Oh, yeah,yeah  
> I'm fine🙊  
> Would you though?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  No of course not  
> But really, is everything okay?
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Its just that Minnie is running late and wouldn't message you to ask if you could pick him
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Oh
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  You'd pick him up on your way Jinnie, right?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Of course!  
> Tell him I'll be there in 10
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Will do!  
> Thank you so much Jinnie!!!  
> 💓❣💖💕💙💚💛💞💝
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Anything for you
> 
> ~~**Hyun's Lix** ~~   
>  ~~Bxjsolajska~~

Wait, WHAT? What is that supposed to mean?!

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  For you guys* hahaha
> 
> ~~**Hyun's Lix** ~~   
>  ~~Oh~~

Disappointed, but not surprised, Felix thinks, sighing loudly. Things Hyunjin does to him. 

> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Ah, lmao  
> Give Minnie a call when you reach, okay?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Yup!  
> 🚣

Felix sighed, putting away the phone for charging. Okay, one thing done. Now breakfast. He wondered back to the kitchen, hoping and praying he didn't forget to switch the burner off. The smoke alarm would've gone off by now, so he relaxed tiny bit. 

Humming some song Minho had made him listen to, he peeks in Seungmin and Jeongin's room to check up on the youngest member, only to find Jeongin snoring still bundled up in his turtle blanket. A quick look at the clock tells him its 8:35, so he lets the younger sleep. His classes didn't start until 10 had mentioned to Felix, threatening him to chop his hair away if he woke him up early. 

 

On his way he shuts Chan's door, shouting a _good morning,_ _hyungie_ to Woojin. As he steps inside the kitchen, feeling high on Hyunjin's flirting, he's  greeted with Seungmin eating his toast and Chan preparing scrambled egg, both giggling about Felix's Crush on Hyunjin. 

 

_Oh, I see how it is_ _._

 

As he walks by he decides to smack Seungmin's head, earning a very offended _hey!_ in return. _Hah, sucker, take that!_

 

___________

 

Of course Felix had seen Hyunjin, maybe not face to  face, but he had seen him in many of his insta posts, snapchat stories and when Seungmin showed his and Hyunjin's selfie of the day or on the rare times Hyunjin would face time him, late in the evening, laying in his bed looking soft. 

So it was safe to say, Felix was very much aware of Hyunjin's  beauty. Or handsomeness - is that even a word? No? Yes? Whatever, it describes Hyunjin's otherworldly features.

Hyunjin was everything Felix wished in his soulmate: similar sense of humour, his matured character, his dominant personality, and literal beauty with brain. And from what Chan had said, Hyunjin had a good few centimeters on him. 

 

Right now as Felix watched Hyunjin, who stood leaning on his car and blessed Felix's eyes this early in the morning, Felix felt like he wasn't warned enough about Hyunjin's beauty. He didn't know if he wanted to kiss Chan's feet or throw a tantrum for keeping Hyunjin hidden from him. Midst of the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts passing through his veins and mind, Hyunjin looked up as if he sensed Felix's presence. He perked up when he noticed Felix and waved at him, his lips curving upwards. _What is he so cute for? Oof!_

 

Felix was dazzled. And speechless. Yet he waved his hand, not sure if he looked as pleasant as Hyunjin did, not sure if he at least looked alive because _goddamnit_ _, he wasn't ready for this attack!_ But he was too charmed to care. He shyly smiles, when Hyunjin moths his name.

 

"Lix! Ask Seungmin if he took his papers he was to give today!" Jeongin yelled from where he was running around, collecting his things. He had threatened Felix to not wake him up, but he had somehow manged to forget to study for a small Psychology test, making him run late for the library trip he was intending to make. 

 

Felix and Hyunjin were still looking at one another, not saying anything after the awkward waving. Hyunjin looked mesmerised and Felix isn't sure if he should be flattered or should feel bad for Hyunjin. If Hyunjin happens to like him, it's not going to end well for either of them, he realized. Just as Felix started to crawl back to darker thoughts, a wild Seungmin stumbled into Felix's views. Hyunjin also shifted his attention from Felix  to Seungmin, whom he greeted with a fist bump. 

 

Felix cupped his mouth and leaned a little low, "Minnie!" Seungmin's head snapped towards Felix. Even Hyunjin looked up and smiled charmingly, which made Felix forget why he had called out to Seungmin in the first place. 

 

"Stop drooling and do what Jeongin asked from you!" Chan chimed from the kitchen, smirking when Felix narrowed his eyes at him. Felix tuned his attention back to Seungmin, determined to not let Chan's teasing get to his head. 

 

"Did you take your papers due today?" Seungmin nodded and a smirk plastered on his face, pointing subtly at Hyunjin, he wiggled his eyebrows. Which felix smoothly ignored it.   
"Your laptop and pendrive?" another node. 

 

"Keys? Wallet?" Seungmin chuckled fondly and jiggled the keys and shot a thumbs up at Felix. 

 

"Don't forget to eat-,"

 

"Okay, mom, don't worry. I'll eat," Seungmin exclaimed, and proceeded to push Hyunjin, who was still fondly staring at Felix, towards the drivers door to get going. 

 

As soon as Hyunjin settled, he rolled his window down and yelled, "I'll report back if he eats or not!" to which Seungmin only rolled his eyes and exclaimed exasperatedly, "Okay, dad!" 

 

Felix could feel the heat spreading across his face. Seungmin was brat and Felix wished he could punch him for that. As if sensing Felix's urge to punch him, Seungmin looked up smirking and then winked before saying his goodbye. 

 

_Stupid Felix, Stop blushing. It was not big of a deal. Plus, poor_ _Hyunjin_ _was just reporting back, it's nothing romantic._ Felix scolded himself, walking inside to help the other three. 

 


	5. The D-Day?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is happy he's going to meet his other half, the one especially made for him, the one who he'd love unconditionally. Trust him, he is happy. 
> 
>  
> 
> But....
> 
>  
> 
> What about Felix? He likes Felix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in Hyunjin's point of view. It's on the same day as the previous chapter. 
> 
> Now you get to see Hyunjin's whipped side. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Hyunjin was sitting for his Economics class, chatting away with Jaemin, or more like nodding his head along whatever Jaemin was talking about. Jaemin was gushing about his soulmate, Jisung, saying how he saw him in his dream before he met him, Hyunjin trying his best to listen to the other boy, but failing horribly at it. He dreams about Felix all the damn time, that doesn't mean he's going to meet Felix every other day. Let's not talk about how the Australian isn't even his soulmate because _that shit is depressing._

The butterflies were going wild in his stomach for some unknown reason, making him more anxious. It's not like his brain was idle either, his mind racing with numerous different thoughts, ranging from how he didn't mind pineapple on pizza to why he shouldn't punch that one guy who insulted Hyunjin for being gay. His brain would switch from one thought to another as if it was turning pages, leaving Hyunjin feeling a little overwhelmed. The day was weird too, it was Friday and he was in his Economics class, while his timetable says he doesn't have this class on a Friday. His class is weird too, it's not his regular Economics class which is situated on the third floor of the building. Hyunjin remembers tripping on his way to the third floor, so he is sure this class _is_ on third floor. Also, because he climbed the stairs to be in this class, and yet, somehow, there's their campus sitting area right outside the class. And nothing is adding up. _He's fucking tripping on today's air._

Jaemin, for a change, still hasn't caught on to the fact that Hyunjin wasn't listening to him, making him wonder how invested Jaemin was in his soulmate story. And frankly, Hyunjin was jealous. He could feel the ugly shade of green boiling in his stomach everytime Jaemin paused to tell Hyunjin how Jisung was the cutest little chipmunk.  
All his friends - Seungmin, Jaemin, Hyunjoon, Sunwoo - had met their soulmates. He was the only one without a soulmate and it made him a little bitter, making him feel empty whenever they discussed about their soulmates, making him want to feel the feeling of belonging to someone, to know how it feels to be in your other half's presence. But everytime they describe how they feel when they're with the love of their lives, he remembers Felix - Felix made everything a little (a lot) less bitter in his life, calming down the feeling of jealousy. Talking with Felix, thinking about Felix and listening to Felix all gave the feeling that he was complete, like this is what is meant to happen, like this is what is right.

_It felt right._

"Hyunjin!" Mr. Yeo yelled at him, snapping him out of his trance _and fuck when did he walk in? For how long was_ _Hyunjin_ _day dreaming about meeting Felix now?_ His eyes darted from Mr. Yeo's narrowed one's to Jaemin's and from Jaemin's pitiful eyes to Mr. Heo's glaring ones. He sat straighter in his chair, ducking his head in embarrassment, mumbling a muffled apology. Mr. Yeo seemed to accept the apology as he continued with whatever he was saying.

"I hope you guys would treat him better since he is new and sort of late into this academic," Hyunjin nodded when Mr. Yeo looked at him sharply As if Hyunjin would get involved with a new kid. _Keep dreaming, Mr._ _Y_ _eo_ _._

"Mr. Lee, do come in," Mr. Yeo spoke, voice an octave lower, softness turning a notch up, gentleness magnifying, and eyes crinkling with how wide he was smiling. Hyunjin huffed at the duality of this man.  
But he froze after he realized that Mr. Yeo had addressed the new kid as Mr. Lee! _Mr. Lee!_ He knows Lee is a very common last name and it was close to impossible for it to be someone he is thinking about. That would --

Hyunjin loses his train of thoughts, his rational reasoning jumping out of the window when a certain Lee Felix steps in, his hair done in a way Hyunjin liked, freckles sparkling under the dull classroom lights, skin glowing under the sunlight that shone on him as if designed to do so, eyes shining brighter than Hyunjin's own future.

_What the fuck?_

Felix suddenly starts walking in a slow-motion, Jaemin turning in his chair very slowly, fellow students' activities carrying on with a speed of 0.5x. Hyunjin felt like he was watching a YouTube video with a slow speed, like trying to catch every single detail of his bias.  
Wanting to know if he was hallucinating, he quickly turned in his chair to see if everything was actually slowing down. To his surprise, he wasn't hallucinating, nor was he being tricked by his classmates. 

  
At the back of the class he noticed Eric's eraser rolling away from him, Eric and eraser, both, moving at a snail's pace, making Hyunjin wonder if he should walk and just stop the eraser from falling off the desk.  
He noticed Eric's seat mate roll his eyes so slowly that his eyes disappeared only leaving the whites of his eyes on display for a good five seconds. Feeling a little spooked out, he turned to look at the front where his other two friends sat.

Sunwoo and Hyunjoon were lost in their own world, Hyunjoon's hand raising up slowly to... do what, Hyunjin doesn't know, since he's taking too long to even freaking raise the damn hand.

_What is happening, someone please tell_ _Hyunjin_ _._

He turns back in his seat, jumping out of skin when he realises Jaemin was still looking at him with that weird smile, closing his eyes and taking another decade to open them. He watches as Jaemin opens his mouth to say something, his lips taking ages to form a simple 'o' and Hyunjin suppresses his urge to just whack Jaemin's head.

Choosing to ignore Jaemin, he instead looks at Felix, who is still in the middle of walking to the centre, Mr. Yeo still smiling gently at the younger. From his right side, he hears the beginning pitch of a whistle, making him turn his head towards the asshole who dares to catcall _his_ Felix. _Woah_ _, where did that come from?_ Felix is definitely not _his_. Yet. [ _insert smug look, wiggling of eyebrows]._

_Hyunjin_ _is definitely tripping on today's air._

_Hell, even the air is tripping on itself._

Feeling irritated that the guy who he has never seen before, by the way, dared to catcall a new student and that to when they're about to introduce themselves in a room full of strangers, Hyunjin tears a small strip of paper from his book... that just appeared randomly on his desk... _What the fuck,_ _Hyunjin_ _is really scared now._  
Pushing away the thoughts and questions, he rolls the piece into a small ball and throws it towards the nameless guy, watching in awe as the paper ball flies smoothly and slowly, forming a perfect arc on its way. Hyunjin suddenly feels like he was watching one of those science videos with 4K quality.  
He continues to watch in awe as the paper flies and hits the guy in his left eye, making him flinch away very, how to say it, dramatically? It looks more funny than dramatic, thanks to the whole slow motion going on in the air, as he jerk his head with a snails pace, his eyes fluttering close.

Sneakering to himself he turns back, this time finding that Jaemin has gone back to looking in front and that Felix has finally made it in the centre, smiling at the class.  
And suddenly the voices are filtering back, like colour slowly taking over the black and white moment, making the class seem a lot more vibrant, cheerful and alive. Felix bows at a normal pace, Mr. Yeo walking towards the board to write down the day's topic of study, and he hears few guys laughing on his right.

Felix smiles widely, just like how he smiles when he realises Hyunjin has no comeback to his one of the many comments during their FaceTime. "Hi, I'm Lee Felix, I'm Majoring in Psychology and minoring in Dance," he introduces himself, and _hold the fuck up!_

It's the same way Felix had introduced himself when Hyunjin and he had FaceTimed for the first time...... His lips are moving but Hyunjin can't even make out what he is saying, because he is left wondering why was Felix introducing himself like that in his University, in Seoul Institute of Business and Management Studies.

Felix recognises Hyunjin, smiling widely and waving at him, making Hyunjin smile and wave back, his brain still thrown in a loop of constant confusion due to the weird things happening around him.  
And just like how he had found himself in this situation with no context, he finds the whole scene fading out into a dark abyss. Last thing he remembers is watching Felix mouth something- _soon_ and something else.

_Soon what?_

___________

 

As soon as his alarm had gone off at 7 o'clock sharp, Hyunjin finds himself waking up with new found desire, new found liveliness, making him confused, asking himself if he was dreaming. He snaps his finger when he realises it had something to do with his dream, but he couldn't remember what his dream was all about. He just knows it was a great one, had him feeling all light and fluffy. He smiles like a love fool, thinking it must be another visit from Felix.

The entire morning, his heart was racing, he was humming a light and cheery melody, he had a smile plastered, he felt like he was floating around, his shoulders felt relaxed, he felt like a kid in candy shop, and his brain was relaxed and full of positivity. Whatever it was, he felt like staying like that or even pausing the time so he could enjoy it a little more until it lasted, until he had to step back into the harsh and stressful reality. It was almost like he was dreaming, if not for the dull pain in his skull he would have surely convinced himself he was dreaming.

Which reminds him, again, how this all had to do with his dream, a small snippet of the dream coming back to him. He remembers smiling and waving at Felix, he remembers how it had made him feel every emotion. He isn't sure what it was, maybe he dreamt of how their first meeting would be? Scoffing, when he couldn't remember more than that, he decides to not dwell on it, moving around his room to get dressed.

He had submission of the major research paper on Marketing (and they're not even a week into the college, go figure), yet he felt like he was high, like he had no worries. He had this strong feeling today would go down as a day to remember.... Maybe he'll be scoring a grand on the paper? Or maybe even fail at it pathetically?  
_Oh, God! This can't be the silence before the storm kind of shit happening! Is it?_  
Or, or maybe he'll be meeting his soulmate?! That explains why he sort of feels blissful, like he is complete somehow.

Which again reminds him how he had seen two people in his dreams, one was Felix and the other was a person he had never seen in his life. Fuck, now he'll be left wondering the whole day long if the other guy would be his soulmate... He hopes not, because he didn't have the best first impression of the guy. He doesn't remember what that guy did, but he remembers throwing a paper ball at him in annoyance.

_Please be it Felix._

 

___________

  
Hurrying downstairs, Hyunjin could make out the distinct smell of scrambled egg and burnt toast, something he has grown used to over the few weeks. It almost freaks him out if he doesn't smell it first thing in the morning. He sighed shaking his head, Youngmin was whipped for his fiancé beyond belief and that's sweet and all, but he seriously needs to stop trying to make toast (and everything that can get burnt or poisoned) - sandwiches are good, he should stick with those.

Youngmin learning to cook for Jisoo and Jisoo learning to play guitar for Youngmin is downright disgustingly sweet, grossly enduring and worthy of puking rainbows and glitters. It's a love story right out of a fluffiest Manga and on the sidelines of this love story is our Hyunjin, making gagging noises and getting smacked in the head for it by his mom. That's what his life at home is in a nutshell, he guesses. _You're just jealous you don't have someone to be gross with_ , Youngmin had remarked and Hyunjin fully agreed to it without hesitating.

He dumped his bag and his research papers on the dining table before making his way in the kitchen, where he knew some sort of disaster awaited his arrival. He couldn't wait to see what hilarious situation Youngmin had found himself in, this time.

And, boy, he wasn't disappointed a bit.

Youngmin's iPad was propped on the kitchen counter and in front of it stood Youngmin and their mom. His brother was standing with his head down, red in face and flour in his hair, while their mom was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring up at her older son. Behind the two were their maid and chef, Rita and Noah, running around either cleaning the mess or trying to remove the toast (or was it pancake, _which what the fuck_?) from the ceiling.

Hyunjin bit his tongue and tried containing the laughter that was bubbling in his chest. He stealthily removed his phone out and started recording, knowing he'd be able to capture something very interesting. Digital evidence for blackmailing material will be of high quality today, he decided.

"Mrs. Hwang, the pancake isn't peeling off. It's stuck to the stealing," Noah informed, smiling sheepishly when Mrs. Hwang smacked her forehead at the unannounced and unwanted situation Youngmin had succeeded to pull each member of the Hwang family in.

"How did you manage to get the pancake reach that height? What were you even doing with it?!" semi robotic voice of Youngmin's fiancé filled the tensed atmosphere. Youngmin blushed, just shaking his head and refusing to give any further details. Hyunjin is ready to bet his entire collection of Avenger dolls, that it was something really stupid that lovesick Youngmin thought would be romantic.

"It's okay, Noah. You can get down. The one who did this should be the one cleaning it. Why don't you put something together for Jinnie, he'll be down soon," Hyunjin's mom suggested, picking her plate and sitting down in front of the iPad, conversing with Jisoo.

Youngmin only nodded and climbed the stool, after Noah got down and sent an apologetic smile. Youngmin works in silence, climbing without as much as a complain of how much he is scared of falling. _Youngmin_ _and his paranoia,_ _Hyunjin_ _can't get enough of both._  
But as soon as Youngmin had managed to climb, he stills, startling himself, gulping sharply. He does a quick cross with his hand and stretches his hand to pull the stubborn food item off the ceiling. Seems like it's not Youngmin's day and seems like it's going to be Hyunjin's day. To Youngmin's horror, the pancake starts to peel off, loosening quickly, and before Hyunjin or Youngmin knows what's happening, pancake gives out, landing smack on older male's face, the syrup dripping down his chin and on his apron.

All the jaws drop at that, Noah and Rita were stuck between staring at Youngmin and continuing with their work.

Hyunjin had enough of controlling his laughter and burst out laughing, recording long forgotten, his phone shaking violently in his hold. This had a chain reaction as Jisoo soon followed with her squeaky, high pitched one. Hyunjin's mom was frozen with shock for first few seconds, but she soon starts laughing, almost toppling off of the bar stool she was sitting on.  
Noah moves towards Youngmin and helps him down the stool, while Rita stood in the corner giggling, simultaneously trying to concentrate on sweeping the floor.

"At least young master managed to get the pancake off," Noah beamed positively, making Youngmin shoot a wry smile at that. But as he walks towards the door, he notices Hyunjin doubled over in laughter and shoulder passes Hyunjin hard, making Hyunjin stumble, still laughing his ass off and gasping for air simultaneously.

_________

 

He cut the pancake and stuffed it in his mouth, while watching Seventeen's call call call dance practice video, and almost chocked when Seventeen started tapping their butts. _Way to go,_ _Seventeen_. He was proud that Seventeen had debuted in Japan and he wished Japan would welcome them just how Korea had with their debut song Adore U.  
He swiped the messages off his screen and cussed for interrupting his video watching session. Jisung, more so than any of his own classmates. He was meaning to watch the video a long time ago, but some or the other thing kept coming up and he always forgot about it. If Sunwoo and Eric hadn't been discussing about it yesterday, gushing over how Minghao and Mingyu's part was mega satisfying, he would have probably forgotten about it. 

 

His phone almost hanged when another messaged pinged, Hyunjin almost cussed the sender and their family for doing this to him this early in the morning, but instead smiled warmly when he saw the name of the sender. 

 

Felix's name flashed on his screen, making him quickly tap on the notification before it disappeared in the load of other pending notifications, waiting for Hyunjin to spare some of his attention. If Felix messaged him this early in the morning, something is either wrong or something is _definitely_ wrong. 

> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Heyyyy

A simple _hey_ (with four _y_ 's) awaited for him to reply to, so nothing _that_ serious probably, which is good, yeah.

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  💓  
>  Hey loveeeee
> 
>  **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Must be my lucky day
> 
>  **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Huh, why so?

>   ~~ **Lix's Hyun**~~  
>  ~~WHYYY SOOO CUTEEEEEE I LOVE YOU OMFG~~

Oops, he almost sent it to the younger. He deletes the message and starts to type a new one, more cheesier and more clichéd. He snickers to himself, wishing he could see Felix's reaction at that. 

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  You texted me so early in the morning  
>  😭😭❣
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Must be my bad if I remembered you this early in the morning

He hopes Felix blushed before trying to be sassy with Hyunjin. Oh, God, he really wishes he could see Felix get flustered. That's probably his favourite look on Felix.

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  💔💔💔💔  
>  WHY YOU GOTTA PARADE ALL OVER MY MOOD, FELIX!!!!
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  So sorry Jinnie  
>  Anyways,  
>  What I wanted to ask was did you leave already?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  No, not yet  
>  Still having breakfast
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  What happened?
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Would you mind dropping by our place?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Why, what happened?  
>  Are you okay?!
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Oh, yeah,yeah  
>  I'm fine🙊  
>  Would you mind though?
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  No of course not  
>  But really, is everything okay?
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Its just that Minnie is running late and wouldn't message you to ask if you could pick him
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Oh
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  You'd pick him up on your way Jinnie, right?
> 
> ~~**Lix's Hyun** ~~  
>  ~~When you say jinnie like that, how am I supposed to say no????????? I'm whipped damn~~

Is this what is called whipped culture? Because _sign him the fuck up!_ He is ready to aboard the ship of whipped men, gays.  
Oh, and great job Kim Seungmin, as his senior, Hwang Hyunjin is proud of his great timing. _A job well done._ Keep getting late, young grasshopper.

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Of course!  
>  Tell him I'll be there in 10
> 
> **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Will do!  
>  Thank you so much Jinnie!!!  
>  💓❣💖💕💙💚💛💞💝
> 
> ~~**Lix's Hyun** ~~  
>  ~~BSJXBSKAOMESNZJAIJWASSSKAJ~~
> 
> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Anything for you

Someone save him! He sent it this time, _oh god_ , what should he do, _what should he do_? Felix read it, Felix knows it, fuck, _fuck_ , what should he do?  
He can't even handle a conversation without his gay popping out at random times _!_ Why is he this embarrassing? _Only for Felix, though. [insert a_ _winky_ _face]._

> **Lix's Hyun**  
>  For you guys* hahaha
> 
>  **Hyun's Lix**  
>  Ah, lmao  
>  Give Minnie a call when you reach, okay?
> 
>  **Lix's Hyun**  
>  Yup!  
>  🚣

  
Oh, wheew, now that's sorted out. He can breathe freely. But, oh god, oh gosh, holy mother of sugar candies... He is going to see Felix for the first time..without a screen separating them. He can't freaking wait to leave already, God damn it, why is he this whipped.

Going back to the Seventeen's dance practice video, he hopes that this video can distract him temporarily from his chaotic thoughts going even more wild. He'll have to watch again without Felix hovering in his mind, taking control of every braincells and navigating them to think about himself.

________

 

He pulls up at the address Chan had given him ages ago when he had first moved in with four other people. The apartment was a little on the luxurious side surprisingly, especially since all of them had simple jobs which earned them a little extra cash and not enough to rent, let alone buy such an apartment.  
He has known that Chan's mother is rich, but Chan had also grumbled how his mom refused to pitch in anything wanting her 'only' son to stand up on his own legs, a few years ago when they lived in a dorm together. So why the sudden change of heart? Does return of Felix have something to do with it? 

 

He pulled out his phone and shot a quick text to Felix and leaned on his car, waiting for either Felix or Seungmin to show up - preferably, the first one. _And now we wait,_ with that thought he took in a deep breathe, preparing himself for however long this wait is goin- he was suddenly coughing, choking on his own saliva when he got a whiff of the oh-so familiar scent that he has come to love and cherish.  
Reaching inside his car, he pulled the water bottle and took big gulps, letting out the last bit of cough, clearing his throat. He took a last sip of his water slowly not wanting to choke on water this time, twisting around to drop the bottle in the holder. Hitting his chest lightly with his fist, he tried to sooth the ache. 

 

A minute passed, and Hyunjin found himself relaxing and breathing normally. Coughing a little in embarrassment, he leaned back on the driver's side of the car, trying to look cool, acting like he didn't just almost cough his brain out. 

 

_Hopefully, Felix didn't see the chaos go down. Fingers crossed._

 

Curiosity got the better of him and he found himself taking a deep breath again, to see if he had just imagined the scent. The familiar scent of lavender entered his nostrils, messing with his brain and heart this time, making him feel like he was on drugs, feeling loose and relaxed. He felt like if he just pushed himself off of the car, his body would wiggle and then lay flat on the ground. His body felt like he had no power in those muscles, like the bones had suddenly melted. 

  
He could feel himself relax surrounded by the healing scent of his soulmate, he felt like he was laying in a field of lavender, the flower gently dancing in the cool breeze of early morning, while the sun is still peeking from behind the mountains. If he tried enough, he is sure he could even feel the ghost touch of flowers on his face, tickling his cheeks, while he laid there with his soulmate in his arms.

The scent gets a little more stronger, making Hyunjin's skin crawl in anticipation. This means his soulmate is here, in the apartment or near here and he is going to meet them, and fuck, he isn't ready, fuck, fuck, _fuck._ That explains this jittery feeling he has been stuck with since morning, explains why he has been feeling high and above, explains why he wanted to smile and greet everyone on his way down.  
He is happy he's going to meet his other half, the one especially made for him, the one who he'd love unconditionally. Trust him, he _is_ happy. 

 

But....

 

What about Felix? He likes Felix and the things he feels for him are nothing compared to what he feels for anyone in his life, nothing this strong. He wonders vaguely if he'd be able to feel this strongly for his soulmate. Would he disappoint his soulmate before even before falling for them, will he do justice to this bond? What if he is stuck loving Felix and fails horribly to love the one who has been made for him? 

 

He, for the first time, wishes he hadn't agreed to drop by and instead should have asked Seungmin to meet him by the bus stop instead. Speaking of which, where is he? Shouldn't he be down? Raising his head, he notices that the scent has grown more stronger and more, What's the word, alluring? Yeah, more ethereal, stronger and elegant, just like feli-

 

Oh, there is Felix standing in the balcony! _Hey there cutie,_ Hyunjin greets Felix internally and smiles automatically when he sees Felix, leaned on the balcony railing staring fondly at him. _Can Felix smell his_ _soulmate_ _too?_ If that's the case then it means that they're destined to be together, right? _Right?_

 

Right! 

 

But Hyunjin doesn't known for sure that Felix can smell his soulmate. What does his soulmate smell like? 

 

Wai- _holy_ cra- _fucking_ shi- _Jesus_ christ! 

 

Hyunjin had a dream this morning, he remembered now, he had a _dream_! He remembers seeing Felix in it wondering what Felix was doing in his University! He had seen _Felix_ in his _dream_ , and it's said that, one dreams about his soulmate before they meet them! 

 

_Holy fuck_ , does that mean what it means? 

 

_Are you thinking what he is thinking?_

  
He knows that he dreamt of one another person, who he still hopes isn't his soulmate for multiple reasons. But the only reason that mattered was that the guy wasn't Lee Felix. Hyunjin knows sometimes universe can be cruel and destine you with someone who either won't love you or you wouldn't love them. Cases like this have happened, maybe rare but what are the chances that Hyunjin's won't be one of those rare type. He, somewhere deep inside, knows for a fact that won't be able to feel for his soulmate as strongly as he feels for Felix; that boy has that charm that just has Hyunjin wrapped around his fingers. However cruel it may sound, Hyunjin wishes that even Felix doesn't fall for his soulmate, so that way Hyunjin and Felix have chance at being together.

"Oi," a voice reaches out to him, snapping him from questioning himself if he could ever love someone who isn't Lee Felix and-- _holy fuck how did he_ _fall for Felix fast_ \- 

 

He blinks rapidly to clear his head. Oh, Seungmin is offering his fist to bump, Hyunjin needs to bump his fist too to complete the greeting. 

 

Like an alien being commanded to do things to look like a normal social human, Hyunjin stiffly raises his fist, Seungmin bumping his fist with Hyunjin's. He awkwardly pulls his hand back to his side, and admires how Seungmin does the whole fist bumping with grace of an expert. God, what is _wrong_ with him? He wants to bang his head against his car, but....Felix is watching, though. _Ugh_?! Fuck, why is he feeling as if his brain has taken a vacation for the time? _Where are you now that I need ya,_ _goddamnit_ _!_

 

Seungmin pants softly, smiling at Hyunjin and Hyunjin realises that Seungmin hasn't caught onto the fact that Hyunjin is out if it today, so he smiles back at him. Their head snap up where Felix leaning a little too low to be safe over the railing, his mouth cupped, "Minnie!" 

  
Hyunjin smiled at Felix, noticing for the first time that Felix was a little disoriented and not like his usually sorted self, but looked just as fresh as a tulip. He had baby blue joggers on, a lose black tee. His hair was a mess, though it looked as if he had tried to calm them down, but he had ended up messing them up anyways.  
Felix had a habit of running fingers though his hair when he was anxious, Hyunjin wondered what got him anxious today. If his memory serves him correct, Felix had one lecture today, that too Human Behavior, which isn't a very stressful subject, according to Felix. _So what got his sunshine anxious, huh?_

Felix looked like a lost puppy for a moment, making Hyunjin internally melt at the cuteness. He, though going wild inside, maintained a calm demeanor. Felix's head snapped to look at someone inside and he glared at that someone, making him look more like an adorable puppy and Hyunjin had to fist his hands so that he didn't accidently coo out loudly. _His heart, oh god._

"Did you take your papers due today?" Felix asked, looking at Seungmin, who must have nodded since Felix looked satisfied at the answer.  
"Your laptop and pendrive?" 

 

"Keys? Wallet?" Hyunjin heard Seungmin chuckle fondly and _same though, same._ A jiggling of keys was heard and a hand shot up in his peripheral, with keys in it. 

 

"Don't forget to eat-"

 

"Okay, mom, don't worry. I'll eat," Seungmin exclaimed fondly, and Hyunjin felt himself being pushed towards the door right after, his eyes still on Felix who looked a little flustered and _can_ _Hyunjin_ _take a picture and stare at that too? Thanks._ Hyunjin lowkey whined, his Felix viewing time had expired and he had to go back to staring at the road. Seungmin chuckled, before slamming the door shut when Hyunjin tried to step out. 

 

He let the door shut close before rolling his window down, and sticking his head out to continue looking at Felix for a little while, "I'll report back if he eats or not!" he announced to Felix, searching for an excuse to call him or FaceTime him, to which Seungmin exclaims exasperatedly, "Okay, dad!" 

 

He almost choked again for the second time that day, and shot Seungmin a death glare, but he was busy waving at Felix who - _is that Felix turning red?_ Hyunjin just loves a flustered Felix, he decided. 

 

___________

  
Hyunjin sat down at the table he shared with idiots who he calls freinds. Eric, Jaemin, Sunwoo and Hyunjoon are already in their places, chatting and bickering. Jaemin and Eric bickering, as usual, while Sunwoo and Hyunjoon are feeding each other, Hyunjoon is smiling like he won a trophy.

The way Hyunjoon smiles and looks at Sunwoo with heart in his eyes whenever the younger would laugh or smile, the way Sunwoo always sticks by Hyunjoon whenever the older has a bad day or gets into another argument with his dance crew members - showed their love without using the words. They were the kind of couple who sat on opposite end of spectrum, but when put together could make every other couple shake with the amount of love they shared.

Hyunjin never understood the fun of bickering, especially since the duo bickered over the most lame things. He never understood how Hyunjoon would smile after being called an idiot after their little (cute) bickering.  
But now that a certain Lee Felix walked in his life (or got added in the group chat), he understood. His and Felix's constant bickering on chats or even on FaceTime had Hyunjin always smile fondly or dissolve into giggles. He understood, you always didn't have to shower the other one with love, and that both didn't always have to agree on the same opinion or share the same one. Diversity was beautiful, different angles in life was important.

Bickering, loving, getting jealous and feeling happy for your significant other was part of the life. Hyunjin's parents have never fought or bickered with one another in Hyunjin's presence, so it had come to him as a shock when he realised that the bickering duo, Sunwoo and Hyunjoon, were actually soulmate who are in love.

"Hey, Jin!" Jaemin chirped from where he was, his mouth stuffed with noodles. "Don't speak with mouth full, Nana, you look gross," Sunwoo groaned, tapping lightly on Jaemin's wrist, making a gagging gesture.  
"Are you sure Jisung and you are not related, somehow?" Jaemin drawled, swallowing the content. Sunwoo sighed and shook his head, "Pretty sure I didn't know a Park Jisung, that is until you mentioned him last week."

Hyunjin watched in amusement as Hyunjoon rubbed Sunwoo's back. Jaemin has been asking the same question to Sunwoo every time he reprimanded Jaemin's few gross habits or when his sassy side kicked in. "I swear, he acts like you. You remind me of him. But I like him anyways!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're saying you don't like me?"

"That's not assuring, don't crush on Seonoo."

Three people spoke at the same time, making Hyunjin laugh out loud at the various stages and reasons of concern over Jeamin's statement.

"Hyunjin!" Seungmin exclaimed suddenly, taking a seat across him, glaring as soon as he sat his ass down, panting harshly. He then proceeded to wipe the sweat by his brows. Damn, Hyunjin must have done something pretty wrong for Seungmin to come running. "How dare you tell Felix that I submit the project today! I don't want him to give me his 'I didn't expect this from you' look! Oh god, Felix, I'm so sorry I just forgot," Seungmin whined, faking sobbing on Eric's shoulder.

"I really want to meet Felix, again," Jaemin spoke suddenly, ignoring Seungmin, and then hiding his smugness in lieu of stuffing his face with more noodles.  
"Oh? Really now? Why so? You....You better think before you speak because I have footage of you twerking and I will not hesitate to send it Felix and ask him to forward it to Jisung!" Hyunjin fumed, still sulking over not being able to meet Felix while all his other friends had met, now add Jaemin into that list.

Jaemin chuckled at that, wiggling his eyebrows, "So Felix, huh?"  
Hyunjin groaned, not bothering to reply Jaemin.

Jaemin had recently met his soulmate, Park Jisung, one of Felix's friends. Of course he didn't find it out from Felix, Jaemin was the one to inform him. He instantly regretted not taking up the offer to accompany Jaemin for that coffee run when Jaemin informed how Felix and his soulmate were together. Hwang Hyunjin doesn't regret many things, so you best believe it was a big deal. He missed his only chance to meet Felix without being in presence of his other seven friends.

Plus, now that he knows that Felix maybe is his soulmate, he wants to meet him. Confirm that yes, Felix is his soulmate. Wants to make sure that the guy he has been crushing for months now, is destined to be with him. He wants to hold the younger in his arms, smother him in kisses and cuddle him to sleep.

 


	6. Well, That Happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you had been waiting for me to update this story, I'm sorry it took that long.  
> And if you weren't, well, it's okay. 
> 
> This is officially the longest chapter in this story. All the words combined from the previous 5 chapters come around 17.1k words, while this chapter alone is about 17.2k.
> 
> What a °booster°! 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

It was a very peaceful Saturday morning for the five occupants of the apartment, each member going about their day. Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin were busy being active in their dreams, while Chan and Woojin were busy searching for a place that'll actually house nine noisy members, who were blessed with the power to create an illusion of a concert with just their voices.

Woojin wiped down the plates with utmost care, as Chan went through all near by Cafés that were big enough for all the members. Woojin would pause every few minutes to simply admire his love - eyes narrowed to a slit, busy searching up places, nose scrunched adorably - every now and then.

"Pristin is great, I heard —"

Woojin cut Chan off immediately, still wiping down the ceramic bowl with careful movements. "Yeah, no, they closed it. The owners couldn't, _allegedly_ , afford to run it."

Chan scratched his head. "Uh? I thought they were doing just fine for a new business? Or am I wrong?"

Woojin shrugged, clearly bothered by the closing of the snack center. "I don't know, frankly."

"What do you know then," the Australian sulked.

"I know I'd sell you to get Pristin back. Just saying." Came the quick reply.

A pause on Chan's behalf. Then, "Fair enough."

"There's another snack center that's up in the same place. Search that one, it's called Dreamweaver? Or something like that," the Korean suggested.

Clicking on a few more links, Chan came across a picture of the empty shop, Dreamcatcher, the decor majorly dominated by orange, black and red colours, purple and green randomly making appearance to give the place more spooky than dark vibe. Then there were pictures of few of their famous cream puffs and drinks. He chuckled when he noticed their tag line, ' _Trust me, we'll blow your mind like it's a_ _Piri_ ' it said.

"Dream _catcher_ ," Chan chimed a few seconds later, "is the new shop. Pictures also look very nice. It has that Gothic feel to their shop! How lovely is that!" Chan exclaimed excitedly, wildly scrolling through more pictures, groaning in appreciation.

Woojin chuckled. "I'm aware, petal. Your closeted goth self can feel like itself there."

Chan didn't even deny being a closeted goth, having long accepted that he was indeed a closeted goth - oh, the irony.  
"Even their muffins looks yummy, Woo," he said, scrolling through the pictures of their food. Chan was practically salivating at this point, each food item looking more appetising than the previous one. Dreamcatcher has no idea how glad Chan is that the place is only few minutes from their home. This way he can visit them whenever he pleases, plus, like Woojin pointed out, it does seem like it's made just for Chan.

He scrolled more, checking out the reviews which was majorly dominated with positive ones - quality of food was excellent and so were the prices. And the negatives were directed towards the size of the cafe and not the services or quality of their food. Chan wouldn't mind visiting this cafe.

"Dreamcatcher is a new cafe, Channie, they're not big enough to have place for nine people. And especially not us. We're the kind of people who run a high chance of getting kicked out than asked to come back again. Plus, I really like their Polaris milkshake and Trap cream pie. I'd like to keep visiting it and not get banned, thank you very much," Woojin ranted passive aggressively, wiping the pan with a bit too much force.

Stress cooking and cleaning was a thing, but is stress-wiping-a-pan-so-hard-it-makes-a-dent a thing too? Is it something Chan should be aware of? Should he buy more pans so that his soulmate could've more pans to wipe when stressed?

Woojin shooting down the idea immediately without even thinking twice, made Chan grumble but still agreed reluctantly, proceeding to close the tab. Their food looked rather appetising and Woojin did have a point of them getting kicked and banned. _Damn, they really are a bunch of nuisance, huh._ Plus, he can always visit the cafe without the loud mouths. Or he can take Woojin on a date there, Woojin obviously likes the cafe. Patting himself mentally, he proceeded to select the link for the next Café that had a good rating too.

"How about GOT7? It has a rating of..... um? Seven — _seven_ _crackheads_ _?_ What does that even mean?" Woojin hums in confusion, throwing a glance at his lover over his shoulder. "But, regardless, sounds good," Chan tells him, raising his head, eyes following Woojin as the older goes to put away the pan he had wiped.

"Isn't that the one where hot guys work?" A nod from Chan. "Then I think that isn't a very ideal one, since we're all couples here." Woojin shot his suggestion down again, mercilessly, making Chan pout at his own self.

Why was Woojin so quick with coming up with a very logical reasoning?

"Changbinnie is a lone wolf, wouldn't that be like good for him, though?" Chan wondered loudly. "It's not like we've disloyal people in our group. We're all whipped for the mate of our souls, we are blind to anyone else trying to flirt with us."

He has seen the way Seungmin's eyes follow Jeongin even in a room full of people, he has seen the way Jeongin just smiles unintentionally whenever Seungmin does. He has seen Jisung practically melt whenever Minho smiles at him with his eyes crinkling, he has seen Minho dote on Jisung whenever the younger feels down. He has seen Woojin compromise millions of times because he knows Chan likes something a certain way and Cha himself knows he'd bend over to just have Woojin happy and healthy. Now that he thinks about it, Chan probably holds the first position in being whipped.

A scoff from Woojin. The older of the two turned around to look at the Australian, one of his hand taking a perch on his hip. "Hyunjin will be with us too, Chan. Did you forget?" He walks closer to Chan, peering down at him. "Like, I know he's single and is free to flirt with whoever he wants. But our baby boy has taken a liking to him and I would very much appreciate if Hyunjin restrained from flirting in front of my baby."

Chan blinked, just remembering that this would be Felix and Hyunjin's first time seeing each other. Was that why Hyunjin was so incessant that Chan made sure Felix came? Did Hyunjin really like Felix?

"You still think its a good place now?" Woojin says, regaining Chan's attention, turning away sassily to snatch a bowl and wipe that down.

" _Right_. Of course." Chan agreed easily. Flirting has become Hyunjin's second nature. Just because Felix is aware of this side of his crush doesn't mean, he won't be hurt by it. "Nevermind, don't want Hyunjin hoeing around when Felix would be there. No GOT7 then."

Chan knows he wouldn't hold himself back from smacking the Business Management student if he became the reason Felix frowned or got upset. He still has his doubts regarding Hyunjin's ' _love at first sight_ ' claims. That and Hyunjin has this ability to attract good looking people, and has this habit of flirting with anything that breathes, animals and plants included. He sighs heavily.

Chan whispers a promise, like he had done billions of time before, to support Felix in any of his decision. If he wants to try with Hyunjin, Chan is going to make sure he gets treated the way he should be. And if Felix wants to wait for his soulmate, Chan is going to have his back then too.

Done going over five Cafés, all of which Woojin shot down with a very logical reasoning _(ugh!)_ , Chan locked his phone and pushed it away, watching it slide across the table, stopping few centimeters from the edge. _Good save, friction._

"How about BTS? It's a good place and we know for sure that they won't kick us out for being obnoxious since the café is loud naturally," Woojin suggested this time, coming over to run his fingers through his lover's hair, scratching at the scalp and making Chan hum in appreciation.

Woojin could feel the tension rolling off Chan in waves, making him wonder when the younger would stop worrying about such trivial things. It's not like the boys would be upset if they didn't find a nice café. Woojin knows them, they're the kind who'd be still overjoyed to stay home and order pizza while putting on a movie.

"BTS....?" Chan began, trailing at the end in a confused tone. Before Chan's brain could dig up the memory of the place, Woojin shoots it down too, "It's okay," he says, going back to wiping the dried plates dry again, "BTS has become famous these days. We'd have to wait in line to be able to plant our ass on their chair. We can always visit it any other time. So BTS is postponed for now."

Chan huffed out a laugh at the way Woojin worded it, relaxing when he felt a kiss being planted on his forehead. He kinda regretted not taking Felix's suggestion of lunch into consideration. If he had planned a lunch, all he had to do was reserve a table for nine and then just make sure to arrive in time. There, his work would've been done.

He sat up straight slowly, taking his time to stretch, back aching from being hunched over for a long period of time.

"Hey, what's that Cafe's name, Chan? The one we had stumbled across a few weeks ago, but it was closed? Near Jisung's house?" Woojin excitedly asked, bouncing over to Chan to look at him expectantly, eyes wide and a wide smile etched on his handsome face. _Oof_ , at this rate Chan would have no competition for being whipped – not like he has any to begin with. _(Welp, Hyunjin is, but he isn't dating Felix, yet, so Chan's position isn't threatened.)_

Chan could feel the butterflies going wild at the way Woojin was acting, looking cute without even meaning to. He laughed a little, making the older boy confused at the younger's reaction. Getting up, he planted a soft and gentle kiss on Woojin's lips, making the Vocal major blush. It was cute how Chan still had the power to make him blush and how Woojin still had the ability make Chan feel all warm and gay inside.

"The STAY Café, right?" Chan confirmed, earning a full-of-enthusiasm nod from the other boy. Woojin continues to look at Chan expectantly, blinking owlishly when Chan only continued to smile fondly.

When a minute passed and Chan showed no signs of checking the cafe out, Woojin sighed, pushing Chan down in to the chair, and placed his phone in front of him. "Check that one out! I've a good feeling about this one!" Woojin went back to wiping down the glass plates with utmost care.

"It's a very new one, wasn't opened when we had come across it. From what I've heard from those who have visited, it opened like two days ago. Not many have visited it yet, but Jangjun, Mingi and Hwanwoong said it is a nice place and the food is great."

Seeing as he had given up on searching Cafés big enough for them to sit together and also wouldn't kick them out for making noise, he hoped this one at least Woojin would approve. People had said how the cafe was slightly over average price, but he skipped on mentioning that as he believed that it wasn't much of a hassle for their group of idiots.

"Text on the group about our plan then. STAY café, here we come to make your cafe famous!"

Both of them giggled at Chan's randomness, proving further how he was totally related to a certain Lee Felix.

It was a mere coincidence when the Woojin and Chan met each other. Chan was out grocery shopping with his cousin, who had dragged him out for some fresh air and fresh food, when he smelled the distinct smell of sandal wood, the usually soft and gentle smell, was strong today. It did take his half-dead brain a few minutes to realise that his soulmate was there, with him, in the same grocery store. As soon as it sunk in, like a madman, he had started running down all the aisles, sniffing loudly like a dog, not even giving a damn about the amount of people that had begun leaving the store in fear of Chan's weirdness, a few warning the staff members about a cracked egg on lose.

After about ten minute chase, he had finally stumbled upon a tall cutie crouched behind the staked baskets. A single whiff had Chan's head spinning with the scent, the smell stronger than ever, overwhelming his ability to think rationally.

Later on Woojin had told him how he didn't want Chan to see him because he thought Chan was stupid, running around like an idiot on loose. He was soo worried, that he hadn't even paid attention to how Chan smelled like his soulmate was supposed to.

Felix, Minho and Seungmin have yet to let Chan live that one down, making sure to bring it up every time Chan has an upper hand in an argument. Chan hates how they met, but he wouldn't change it for anything. He had the most dramatic meeting with the love of his life. Over the time he has come to cherish it.  
In his defence though, he hadn't caught a wink of sleep for three days and hence had skipped on the dream which was supposed to warn him about his upcoming important moment. So he hadn't thought of anything when he had stepped out that summer night in his flip-flops, ratty sweatshirt and shorts. Well at least Woojin couldn't smell how Chan hadn't taken bath for three days. That's a win, he assumes.

Both the males shared a peaceful atmosphere after the conversation lulled, Woojin making a shopping list, while Chan was busy arguing in their group chat - it was just Minho and him going back and forth, Chan entertaining the argument just to take a piss out of Minho. It lasted for a few more minutes before the peacefulness came shattering down.

"NOOO!"

A scream was heard, both of their heads snapping to look at each other. The voice was that of Felix, making them get up and dash out of the kitchen, Woojin narrowly avoiding dropping his precious vase placed on the table and Chan almost managing to fall face first in his hurry.

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
He laid awake in the bed, feeling the sun's warmth on his exposed skin. He could feel the steady build of bids of sweat on his back where the sun shone brightly. A quick glance at his alarm clock told Felix it was five minutes to nine. No wonder the sun was making him feel hot. And bothered, though he is pretty sure it has nothing to do with the sun.

He was feeling really hot, even the air-conditioning wasn't doing much to keep him from not feeling hot. So to speak technically, AC was keeping him cold when on, but it would keep him so cold he could feel is blood slowly freeze in his veins. So he had switched it off, pulling his blanket over his face, wrapping himself up nice and warm. But within a few minutes he found himself sweating profusely even though the temperature of the room was low enough to keep him cool for another half an hour with only the fan running.

He was experiencing hot and cold splash. He hates this kind of thing; AC is on, Felix is too cold and when it's off, he's too warm. The fan does nothing in helping him not sweat as well, just circulating the warm air around the room and raising the temperature of the room. Everything is just making him more and more agitated. _Only if he could sleep this day through._

He kicked away the blanket that had tangled up with his leg. But the darn thing refused to budge, tangling even more, roping around Felix's legs like a fucking snake. Trying to pull a leg free only made the blanket tangle even tighter around him and Felix hissed when he almost pulled his toe nail out in the process of kicking his leg wildly.

_Every. Darn. Thing. Is. Annoying. Him._

It's almost like every item in Felix's room had collectively decided to be a nuisance to Felix on this particular day. A day where Felix was at his worst — okay, maybe not worse, but he feels like these stupid inconveniences are driving him faster there — and could do with not much hassle.

After a particular hard kick, he managed to free one of legs from the blanket's hold, sighing in relief when he could move his leg freely. Seeing as one leg was out, removing the second leg from the mess was much easier and he sighed in relief. _One obstacle overcome._ Now what's next?  
Rolling to his left, he smashed his warm face in the other cold pillow, sighing from the temporary relief it gave him as the coolness seeped in his skin. The coolness from the pillow and the bedsheet that hadn't warmed up from his body heat yet, had Felix dozing off, eyes fluttering close soon after.

⭐

  
Next time Felix woke up, he was still hot and bothered. The pillow and bedsheets no more providing the coolness Felix so desperately wanted to feel. He felt yucky; he was sweaty, his hair was also greasy, having not washed for an entire day, his skin felt weirdly hot, like it was on stove but not near it, like faraway heat...the humid kind of heat? _You know what he means?_ Frankly, he would believe you if you told him you didn't get what he was trying to convey because he himself doesn't know what he is thinking. Or trying to say for that matter. _What even is a humid heat? Is that a thing?_ All his thoughts are just incoherent. _Is he thinking in English or Korean or is he — is he even thinking? What the hell?_

Sighing in discomfort, Felix reached out for the glass of water he always remembered to put on his bedside table. It was down to last sip, and Felix felt like he had been betrayed. See, he knew everything in his room was against him today, apparently. Gosh, he doesn't even want to find out if anything outside his room is waiting to cause another inconvenience to the Australian.

He squints at the glass, plucking it even if it's nearly empty. His mouth felt dry. Very dry. Like sandpaper dry. Like he-hadn't-drank-for-ages dry. He greedily gulped down the last sip of water, waiting till the last drop made it into his mouth, grimacing when his throat hurt when he gulped. It felt like pins had been planted on the walls of his throat. Every time his throat contracted, he could feel the nonexistent thousands of pins poking through his throat, making him stop himself from gulping subconsciously. The single sip of water didn't parch his thirst neither did it soothe his hellish feeling throat. Most useless single sip of water ever Felix had encountered.

His efforts to stop himself from gulping frequently became futile when a cough broke out from the depths of his chest. His eyes teared immediately from the pain that wrapped its hand around his throat, pressing hard and making him choke over his own saliva. He could feel all those imaginary pins peirce through his throat, making him wince at that, the harsh choking only making it more painful for him. If he was to compare the pain he felt every time his throat contracted then perhaps he'd say it was equivalent to walking bare feet on tiny, sharp stones. The only difference was that he could do without ever walking bare feet but couldn't do without breathing. Is it a good enough of a time for Felix to wish that vampires were real? Because at times like this he could really do without the eminent need to breathe.

Okay, maybe he's being a very petty drama queen. Maybe he really doesn't wish Vampires were real — _he swears he isn't vampirephobic_ — neither does he wish to be turned into one — _again, nothing against the vampire community with healthy mind set._ (If you're a vampire with toxic mindset, please seek help, my dude.)

No seriously though, it wasn't that painfully. The pain wasn't unbearable, per say, it was bearable, the feeling of someone stabbing with a tiny knife only lasted for a whole minute each time Felix gulped or coughed or choked, and then the pain would fade away, slowly the feeling of stabbing melting into a feeling of discomfort. So, yeah, basically this isn't even the worst.  
Now, just because something isn't painful enough to challenge your pain tolerance level, doesn't mean it can't make you feel uncomfortable. Because it definitely can! Ask Felix! He has the first hand experience of this — this — whatever this is. It is very discomforting and was adding to the pile of things Felix wished would vanish with just a click of his fingers.

Pulling his hand from under his body, that felt numb from the lack of blood circulation, he wiped the sweat that had collected by his forehead. His hair was sticking to his forehead and he just wished to go bald, because _who even needs hair! Not Felix! He'd look prettier than Twice's Tzuyu even when bald!_

He's forehead was dotted with sweat but felt cool to his touch. It wasn't warm like he feared it would. Felix sighed, relieved, when he realised he just had a very bad case of cold, but fortunately didn't have a fever. At least not yet, but judging how much he is sweating, it wasn't far behind. _Yikes_.

Oh, also, did he mention how he is feeling extreme yucky? His body was sweating and, _God_ , he is sure his bedsheet is bathed in his own gross sweat. He internally grimaced, physically too drained to do anything about it. His body felt like it had not been greased for decades, bones creaking when he moved and his joints felt too stiff, his vision blurring every time he snapped his eyes open after closing them for a little longer than ten seconds. Just...yuck. He turned his head to smush his left cheek into the pillow, and immediately his head felt like it was swimming — actually he felt like his entire existence was floating, if that makes sense?

But, over all he felt totally disoriented. Like his soul was floating out of his body.

In the middle of this confusing and annoying and what-the-fuck situation, he was also feeling light and relaxed, even though he should have been feeling tired at how much his body is aching, should have felt stiff and he is feeling stiff, but he feels like if he tried enough, he could even fly. _Y'know_? He doesn't know what the feeling is, it's like... It's like that one time Felix was in hospital, heavy on drugs. And he felt high, doctor had laughingly assured him that he wasn't high on illegal stuff, just on pain meds.

Yeah, he felt like that.

Numb towards the pain, yet he swore he felt like his senses were heightened, alert.

He felt yucky — did he say that already? —yet he felt like putting on some music and dancing around, drag Seungmin from his bed and force him to dance along too. If he was a song, he is sure he looked like Hello (by Adele), all grey and kind of dead inside, but he swears he feels like Can't Stop The Feeling (by Justin Timberlake).

Rolling a bit in his bed, trying to find another cold spot to cool off the excessive heat his body was seemingly producing, Felix ultimately rolled off of his bed. He groaned, continuing to lay on the soft carpet. At least the carpet was cool. It was worth the bruises on his hips and elbow.

Wasn't it a good thing he didn't have a class today? Or else he'd be missing lectures on his third week to the college — that would've been a bad thing. Now, he can drown himself in his misery while Chan and Woojin continue to pamper him because he is a big baby. Speaking of which, where are they? Are they asleep? Because, good, hopefully they'll forget about their get together in the evening. Aka Felix's awaiting doom. Aka opportunity for Felix's heart to go berserk.

He rolled over to lay on his tummy, smashing his face in the carpet, coughing out a few fur that got in his mouth. Oops, bad idea. His eyes pricked with tears when the pain clawed into his throat. Yuck. Everything is just so yuck today. He wished he could just skip today.

Well, too bad, looks like he wouldn't be able to meet Hyunjin today after all. He's too sick to even move a limb let alone move the entire body. Maybe he's not destined to meet him and it might not be that bad of a thing. At least he wouldn't have to worry about his growing affection for a certain tall Korean. He smiles, happy that he now he has a genuine reason to skip out on their get together and, in association, avoid meeting the owner of his heart.

Still dazed, he raised his hand up, inspecting it.

"I hope you're a nice person. I'm sorry that I like Hyunjin, I really am. But you can't blame me! Have you seen him? Or maybe you've, and in that case, I'm sure you'd agree with me. Can you imagine if you fell for Hyunjin too? That'd make two of us!" he let out a watery chuckle at that. He is surely sick.

"In that case," he continues, pouting as he speaks, "I won't accept you. I don't want to be with someone whose heart would be beating for someone else and be with me just because I'm their soulmate," he concludes childishly. Sniffing a little, he reached for the tissue box kept in his lower drawer of the nightstand by his head. Cleaning his nose Felix let's out another chuckle, tears gathering at a rapid speed, "Why does that sound a lot like myself? Oh god, you deserve someone a lot better. Definitely not a soulmate who has already given his heart to someone who can take it and then break it all apart and then just throw it away. And the fact that I'll give my heart to him again and again even if he ends up breaking it each time? That just makes me a very horrible person. A sick and pathetic soulmate. You deserve soo, _soo much_ more than me, my the one. You deserve the whole world and how I wished I could give you that."

Felix was a mess at this point, sobbing and chuckling and continuing to crying at the thought of not loving his soulmate enough because of a random guy in his life _(sorry Hyunjin, you're not some random guy, but just for the purpose of dramatization, because Felix is dramatic like that)_. As soon as he felt the tell-tale sign of his anxiety building up, Felix quickly got his shaky hand to his nose.

He abruptly decides, makes a promise to himself, if his soulmate and he don't work out in the end, his soulmate will never be forgotten by him, they'll always be in his heart. Felix would always be grateful for them, they're still the reason he has a beautiful life. And not even his stupid, stupid crush can take it away from them.

"Okay, take a deep breath, Felix. A good gulp and then release it," he instructs himself gulping, his throat suddenly feeling too parched. And it hurt to even think - thoughts getting jumbled up, breathing getting harder, he found himself losing in the haze of anxiety.

One breath.

Two breaths for a good measure.

Come on.

Another breath.

Nothing.

He smells nothing.

_What is happening?!_

He shuffled around to sit properly, tucking his legs under his butt. He stared at his hand as if it had betrayed him. Bringing it up to nose, Felix inhaled dramatically, deflating when it did nothing in calming his nerves down.

_What the hell is going on?_

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

 

Jeongin found himself resurfacing from the dream, he could taste the sweetness of the dream at the tip of his tongue and brain still too cloudy to function. Yawning, he rolled in Seungmin's embrace, coming face to face one of the most adorable faces - not that he didn't find the older adorable when he was being his typical annoying self otherwise, after all, he was made for that dork and that dork was made for him. There's just something in the way Seungmin looks that early in the morning, lost in a dreamland, soo vulnerable yet soo relaxed. Looking at Seungmin, on a normal basis, has Jeongin heart thrilling, but this Seungmin makes something pull deep within him. There's this need to wrap him up in his own embrace. Makes his urge to keep him happy at any cost grow tenfold.

Loving Seungmin isn't scary. The realisation that he'd go to any length to have his soulmate happy, healthy and safe isn't scary either. The thought of reaching a point in life where he'd have no choice but let go of Seungmin, that scares him. Seungmin has become such an integral part of his life, it's impossible to vision a life without that adorable dork in it. Jeongin hates being cheesy, but even he won't deny that Seungmin has become his life.

He lets himself be tucked warmly under Seungmin's chin, throwing his own arm around the other's waist.  
  
Before he met his soulmate, Jeongin would refrain from being touchy with anyone, always maintaining a safe distance, because it made Jeongin feel like he was cheating on his soulmate - which was stupid and sue Jeongin for the lack of braincells. But since Seungmin, he constantly finds himself indulging his mate into all kinds of skinship — holding his hand as they walk, kissing his cheek when he smiles, caressing his face whenever he can — especially now that Jeongin got his hand on the older Korean's guarded secret — he loves being showered in affection by Jeongin.

He doesn't even hold himself back from planting a gentle kiss on either Seungmin's cheek or lip or nose, smooching him every time he leaves for uni, pulling him by his waist when he returns back.

Felix and Chan has essentially learnt to turn a blind eye to the couple's new routine. But Woojin still finds himself throwing the first thing he gets his hand on, screeching like a very offended banshee (not that Jeongin knows what a very offended banshee sounds like) whenever he walks on to the two going at each other like rabbits. Which, in Jeongin's honest opinion, is very hypocritical. Woojin doesn't see Jeongin or Seungmin throwing things at him whenever they walk on Woojin sucking Chan's face. Maybe one day he'll finally make Woojin taste the wonders of his own medicine — screeching like a very offended banshee and all.

"Hey, baby doll," Seungmin croaks, voice raspy and unintentionally sexy. Jeongin thrills internally. _Yeah, he forgot to mentioned how good Seungmin sounds like this._  
Pulling away a little he looks at the older, watching as Seungmin opens his eyes just a little. The younger smirks, wiggling his eyebrows, "Hey, bro. Had a nice sleep?"

Seungmin hits him hard on his back, the _thunk_ loud in the quiet room, making the younger wheeze a little at the sudden and brutal attack, flailing his arms around just to annoy his mate, almost gauging Seungmin's eye out in the process.

"God, it's too early for your headassery. Please, go to see. Sleep and let other's sleep, child."

Jeongin chuckles, shuffling to curl into the older male's chest.

They had known each other way before they even realised they were meant for each other. But when the day had finally come and the realisation had dawned upon the two, things hadn't been smoother. In fact, this whole revelation had jeongin wishing that this whole mess was just a fever dream. A long and detailed fever dream.

Seungmin had always referred Jeongin as his that annoying younger brother who you wished you could get away by leaving him at some supermarket, before he knew that the younger monster was his soulmate and that they were made for each other. Though Seungmin didn't appreciate Felix fawning over this 'sewer rat', he had warmed up to him pretty quickly. Jeongin had soon become a permanent addition to their three membered amazingly lazy group, Jeongin's lazy arse fitting perfectly with them.

It had been a little more than a confusing journey after their initial shock. There are people who had remained friends with their soulmates, not pursuing anything more than that. Though rare to see, it wasn't looked down upon. And Seungmin, a die-heart romantic, had always seen himself leaving his life with his soulmate in it, not as his friend but as his love interest.

Though Jeongin derived a lot of joy poking fun at Seungmin's fantasy, he knew how much Seungmin longed for that perfect life, to be able to spend his life with his other half, to be able to freely love the one who was meant for him. And what with Seungmin ranting about his fantasy every time they came across a couple, it was hard for Jeongin stay unaware of the Seungmin's deep desire.

On the contrary though, Jeongin had always been aloof, spending time with Felix had made him realise soulmates weren't the end game. And he had already made peace with the fact that his soulmate might not accept him. Which came very handy when he finally realised who he was destined to be with.

Things had been awkward, to put it mildly. Seungmin finding it hard to even accept that the guy he had been treating as a brother was, in fact, supposed to be the one he loved. Jeongin hadn't been too upset when Seungmin avoided being alone with him. But it did start weighing him down as the days passed; watching Seungmin scramble to run the other way so that they didn't cross path, listening to Seungmin as he tried coming up with ridiculous excuses on the phone to skip out on their weekly movie marathons, watching him hesitate to even breathe the same air as Jeongin.

It was Jeongin who finally had snapped, frustration bubbling to the brim and fear of the crumbling friendship on the line giving him the courage to take actions. The tiny little Yang Jeongin had dragged the slightly taller boy by the collar through the corridor as Woojin and Felix stared after them, their jaws dropped open.

In the silence of Jeongin's room, both let their guards down; bearing open their opinions, views and hearts to be judged. They fought, yelled, cried, screamed and then resolved the awkwardness, the what-now.

Seungmin had agreed to give the younger a chance, Jeongin pretending to be all nonchalant while Seungmin tried his best to right the wrongs. If one would ask Felix, he'd tell it was one of the most amusing thing he had the pleasure of experiencing. But if you asked Woojin, he'd tell you how many times he had to restrain himself from whacking both the younger Koreans on the back of thier heads. ( _"Watching you two handling that situation that poorly, was a tragedy and a half," Woojin always reminded them.)_

It was also Jeongin who had demanded to know what Seungmin felt for him after three months of 'going out', threatening to chop his penis off if Seungmin dared to lead him on only to dip because he didn't see the younger as anything but a brother.

"You had always been a no-nonsense guy, huh?" Seungmin mumbles, throwing his leg over Jeongin. The tidbits of Jeongin's straightforward attitude flashes behind his eyes.

"Had to be for my favourite brother, y'know," Jeongin responds, laughter tinkling when Seungmin begins tickling his sides.

After a particular muffled yelp, Seungmin let the younger breathe. Tickling was fun, but loosing your soulmate because you forgot to let them breathe during the tickle fight, wasn't soo fun.

Seungmin yawned, the lack of sleep for last few days catching up to him. Jeongin gently ran his fingers through his hair. "Sleep. I'm sure Woojin will wake us up when there's a need for it."

Seungmin hummed, closing his eyes and snuggling closer to the warmth.

Listening to the gentle thumping of Swungmin's heart and the soft breathing, Jeongin began to drift, eyes flittering close when the sleep wrapped around him like a warm blanket.

Jeongin's eyes abruptly flew open when Felix's cry echoed down the corridor and into their room. Though the yell was muffled, it unmistakably belonged to their freckled resident. He almost pushed Seungmin off the bed in his haste to get up and check on his best friend. 

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
" _NOOO_!" echoed in the otherwise silent apartment of the five occupants. Somewhere in the kitchen Felix heard Woojin and Chan curse, a dull thud and a soft shriek followed soon. He heard a door slam loudly, Jeongin and Seungmin probably. A bit of silence followed after the abrupt peak in loud activities. He actually feared if he had managed to scare all four of them from thier own homes. Felix panicked, bringing his wrist under his nose on instinct, only to realise the situation he was in, reason for his anxiety to kick in. Through the haze of panic setting in, he faintly heard the pitter-patter of several feet growing louder and before he knew it, the door to his room flew open, almost smacking a hole into the side wall.

If he wasn't already smack in the middle of a predicament, he would have winced at the entry the four had made.

⭐ 

  
When Chan, Woojin, Jeongin and Seungmin finally managed to squeeze together through the Australian's tiny doorway, they were met with a frantic looking Lee Felix standing in front of his body-length mirror with his wrist under his red nose, tear track glistening under the beam of sunlight. It was very clear that Felix had caught a very nasty cold, maybe even fever seeing as the back of his shirt was wet, in spite the fan being on. And if Chan had to make a wild guess, Felix was freaking out over not being good enough for his soulmate, this early in the morning for whatever absurd reason.

Chan looked at his brother worriedly, watching him in tears because of something like not being good enough, when in fact he was probably the best thing that could happen to someone out there, broke his heart. Only if he could make Felix realise that it isn't a big enough of a issue to lose your sleep over. Only if he could he could absorb his pain and give his happiness to Felix.

A hand wrapped around his arm, Jeongin's face appearing in his peripherals. He looked ruffled, hair a mess and eyes blown wide. Seungmin looked half conscious, heavily leaning against Woojin, both standing before the other two.

Felix sniffed, blowing his nose in the tissue he was clutching, and dragged his body backward, till his knees hit the edge and his ass unceremoniously planted on the soft bed, bouncing slightly under his weight. Chan watched as he continued to stare at himself through the mirror, sniffing continuously, his hand was still lingering under his nose. Concerned, Woojin slowly and cautiously made his way toward the distraught looking Felix, who refused to take his eyes off of himself.

The knife in Chan's chest twisted a little. When is his brother going to get his well deserved happy ending? When is this ruthless universe going to take a pity on him and let him just be?

He watched with attentive eyes as the older male came to a halt in front of Felix, patiently waiting for Felix to look up at him. And when Felix didn't do so, he crouched in front of him, now successfully grabbing the dancer's attention. He blinked upon looking at Woojin, a fresh wave of tears gathered at the brim of his red rimmed eyes and smoothly gliding down the freckle dusted cheeks.

Felix just stared at Woojin, eyes brimming not only with tears but also with range of emotions, making Chan gulp down a sob that threatened to break out. As the dancer made no move to wipe the tears off, Woojin reached up to wipe it for him. Just as his hands made contact with the younger male's cheeks, he leaned in to it and promptly broke into heart wracking sobs, face changing colour from pale to red rapidly.

Chan's heart broke at that, watching the strongest person in his life break like that did things to his heart, brain flipping through all the things Chan should do to make Felix laugh again. His brain went into an overdrive and promptly shut off at the most inconvenient time.

Seems like it didn't shock only Chan, even Woojin froze in surprise, hands unmoving and body stiff under Felix's weight.

Jeongin and Seungmin jumped into action, the two managing to get Felix on his bed, sobs escaping from his bitten and bloody lips as he desperately clung onto Jeongin. Jeongin was nothing if not gentle and soothing, cradling the fragile boy in his arms. Seungmin whispering his name over and over again, asking him to open his eyes at least. And Felix did open his eyes, eyelashes sticking to each other, eyes red and drowning in tears. Jeongin pushed his face in own chest, humming over the sobs. Seungmin joined in on the humming, running his hand through the Australian's oily hair.

How many times had the two witnessed Felix breakdown, for them to be able to handle such heart breaking situation this efficiently? That little knife in Chan's heart digs a little deeper.

Woojin crawling over to Felix's tiny body, has Chan moving too, hands itching to hold Felix. Jeongin without a struggle lies on the bed with Felix still buried in his chest. Woojin lies next to Felix, running his hand down the dancer's back soothingly, also joining on humming to Felix.

With no space left, Chan slips behind Woojin, clinging on his broad back for his dear life. A backache, if he falls, in the middle of this heartache is something Chan is keen on avoiding. He smiles a little fondly when Seungmin grumbles how his ass is hanging in the air. Jeongin's muffled 'shut up, at least you've ass to hang' shuts him up comically fast.

In the end, Jeonging and Woojin managed to occupy Felix's two sides, both cuddling the Australian as the boy continued to alternate between sobbing and mumbling something. Woojin continued to rub the dancer's back soothingly, the gentle press of hands aiding in calming Felix down. Jeongin didn't hold himself back from peppering kisses all over Felix's exposed skin. Seungmin, though half asleep, had his hand wrapped around his soulmate and his best friend, presence of all the people he loves making it really hard to stay awake. 

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Felix loves Woojin, Chan, Seungmin and Jeongin, and it's not a secret. Whoever knows a Lee Felix, knows about his unconditional love for these four people in his life. And being surrounded by them, as he bawled his eyes out, only made his stubborn determination to keep all the insecurities, doubts, questions and guilt to himself, crack every time Woojin ran his hands down his back. Could feel the walls he had managed to build fall apart with each press of Jeongin's lips. The mentality that sharing means weak, melting away with each of Seungmin's soft and full of love ' _my angel'_. Chan's humming brought all the hazy memories back, the amount of trust he had always had on Chan, Chan's casual promise of never leaving him behind cornering his fear of being left behind.

He didn't know what he wanted to do. He felt like even if he spoke to the four, all they'll say is 'do what you want, we'll always have your back.' And as much as that's what exactly he wants to hear, it answers nothing. The question still remains; what should he do? He isn't angry that they can't answer, he isn't even minutely disappointed. It's his own battle, after all, and they can do is provide the support and love he needs — _deserves_ , as Chan would say.

He's stuck. And he fears that each day that passes without him coming to a concrete conclusion, is just bringing him closer and closer to that inevitable day. He fears that the countdown has started and all he is doing is waste his time. He just wishes he never meets his soulmate, at least that way he won't be a whooping disappointment.

Felix can hardly decide what ice cream topping he should try, and universe goes and drops such a big responsibility on his shoulders. It's hardly fair that Felix has to make a choice between Hyunjin, the one who makes him the happiest, and his soulmate, the one person that brought him out of the cold water, the one person Felix was destined to be with.

 _Fuck_.

Felix is screwed.

He loves Hyunjin and he knows for a fact if the older male was to ask him out, he'd say yes without a second thought. But that doesn't take away the fact that Felix would drop him if his soulmate was to come along — regardless of all this internal conflict. And this entire thing is so fucked up because, what if he ends up not loving his soulmate the way he was supposed to? What if Hyunjin leaves him behind for his soulmate? What if–

_"Hey, hey, love. Felix? Baby, hey, can you hear me?"_

–his soulmate loves him, then what? Felix won't find it in himself to leave them even if his own heart is taken by someone else.

_"Fe, you've to stop thinking, baby, you're panicking."_

God, was the mental and physical torture he endured for last how-many years isn't enough? Why does he always finds himself in such situations?

_"Come back to us, Felix, please. You're scaring us, honey."_

It's almost like no matter what he does, he'll be never enough. Either way he's going to hurt himself. Choose Hyunjin over his soulmate? He'll end up drowning in guilt. Choose his soulmate over Hyunjin? He'll end up living a life without his heart, pretending that his soulmate is enough for him.

No matter what he does..... it's not enough.

Will he be ever good enough?

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
He snaps his eyes open, feeling himself float to the reality from some depth of dark abyss. It was a dreamless sleep, the nothingness of that abyss sticking at the corner of his eyes. So he blinks, eyeing the glass of water that's placed by the bed. It's full. Someone must have refilled it.

He lays still for few more seconds, letting his body regain it's senses. The sunlight filtering through is stronger than it was last time Felix was awake. The room is just as warm, but at least Felix isn't bathed in his own gross sweat. Yawning, he wonder for how long he has been asleep.

He's curled on himself, he realises, left hand underneath his head while right hand stays fisted by his head. Yawning again, he proceeds to stretch like a cat, a voice suspiciously sounding like that of Chan yells at the back of his mind ' _Felix, furry!_ ' and he smiles at the mere thought of his brother.

This kind of start to a lazy morning is soo much better than the one he previously had. He can't remember much of it, remembers only rolling off his bed and crying like a little bitch. Everything after that is hazy and he makes an educated guess that he probably lost it, the thoughts had been too heavy and messy, and he had expected himself to crumble under the weight.

Smacking his lips, he realises he's feeling infinitely better. Body, though still feels heavy, isn't aching like he's already sixty years. Throat is sore and so is his shoulders – _wait, whose hand is this?_

There's a weight of an arm on his waist, and he blinks in confusion. Turning around, he comes face to face with a very peaceful Kim Seungmin, his mouth slightly open and hair a bird's nest. He feels himself smile widely. _What a way to wake up, indeed_. Just because he can, Felix boops the very tempting boopable nose, quietly giggling to himself when the nose scrunches cutely. Seungmin's arm is kind of heavy around his waist, but the presence is assuring and Felix really doesn't mind. He may or may not have freaked out if he had woken up all alone so he's thankful to whoever let Seungmin sleep beside him.

He breathes in, sighing in relief and then proceeds to fold himself and curl into Seungmin's chest. Now that he's tucked nicely, the warmth no longer uncomfortable but nice and cozy, he lets himself think about what went down a few...hours ago? Minutes ago? Whatever.

Now that he thinks hard, he remembers Woojin's shocked face. He was crying when Woojin found him. He supposes others were there as well. If not, then at least Woojin told them about it. He must have had a panic attack, and he's sure he must have fallen asleep crying.

Crying does work wonders sometimes. He feels refreshed. He's glad he's feeling a lot lighter now, insecure thoughts not cluttering his rational thinking.

He sniffs, pouting when he finds his nose is yet to unblock. At least it isn't running, that counts for something right? He rather not be surrounded by balled tissue paper, thanks.

His attention is back on Seungmin when the younger grumbles something, nuzzling his nose in Felix's hair, tightening his hold on the dancer. Felix brings his hand up again, this time mischievous intentions accompanying his actions. He slaps his other hand over his own mouth, trying his best to contain the giggles ready to spill. This is so amusing, _good_ _God_ , Felix loves this.

He's brought back to the time when Jeongin and he would annoy the other, pulling all sorts of silly pranks on the sleeping male, Seungmin's reactions the highlight of their day — the snide comments that were later thrown at them, totally worth the chaos.  
He smiles a little at the feeling of nostalgia. Well, he can bring those days back, so what if his partner in crime is dating the victim? So what.

Making sure Seungmin is actually asleep and not pretending — because, otherwise, the chances of the younger chomping down on his fingers are high (he has learnt from his past mistakes) — he slowly puts his index and middle finger inside the open mouth, seconds away from just shoving the two fingers the remaining way and giving Seungmin the wake up call of his life.

A sharp cough breaks the concentration. And Felix jerks his hand back, pulling his fingers back safely but somehow still managing to wake Seungmin while doing so. Peering at his doorway, he is met with a pair of familiar foxy eyes, looking very amused. Felix perks up, ready to get out of Seungmin's hold and cling on to their youngest resident.

"Felix is sick and he deserves all the cuddles he wants," he announces, fighting Seungmin's fingers that are trying to pull him back into the bed.

He huffs when his voice kind of sounds pitched and not his regular deep one, and to add to his annoyance, nasally as well. It makes him sound funny, almost as if he's talking into a hollow pipe. Jeongin snort loudly which leads to Felix pouting, jutting his lips out for exaggeration.

He does not appreciate being laughed at.

"Well, I'm waiting for those cuddles," Seungmin groggily informs, tugging at Felix's shirt. But Felix ignores him, he got Seungmin snuggles, now he want some Jeongin snuggles.

He widens his eyes and pouts even more, blinking his eyes cutely at the younger. His eyes feel dry, _ouch_. Jeongin shakes his head, pushing himself away from the frame, "Woojin has made pancakes and some of his herbal tea, better freshen up and join us."

"And then cuddles?"

"And then cuddles," Jeongin promises.

So cuddles, here we come. Or rather we _will_ come. Later.

"I honestly deserve better than being slept on. Like, _literally_."

"Shut up, Seungmin, no one asked you."

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Apparently Felix's puppy eyes aren't enough for them to cancel plans. So here they are, entering a random café Chan chose, Felix dragging his body behind Woojin. If it weren't for Woojin's tight hold on his arm, Felix would have bolted back to their apartment as soon as they had stepped out Chan's car.

"Wooj, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I didn't show up. We can tell them that I'm sick, which by the way, I am," he whispers, throat sore and voice nasally, pulling at the hand that's holding his own, preventing the older male from entering the cafe. He coughs into the crook of his elbow for added effects.

"That's the thing, Fe, you already have shown up," Chan chimed over his shoulder, pushing the glass door open and gesturing the cowering Australian to enter first.

Felix coughs again, a little loudly to tell Chan that he _is_ sick and he _should_ be home. But Chan beams at him, eyes turning into crescents and dimples popping. And Felix is done for. Chan sure knows how to use Felix's weakness against him. _This should be illegal!_ Shoulders sagging in defeat, the dancer walks in, poking his brother sharply at his ribs. Serves him right for acting like a smartass.

"Monkey." Chan pokes back.

Felix decides to be the mature one and ignore his brother. Someone has to be the grown up between the two. It's still a wonder to Felix, how he managed to grow mature before Christopher _I-will-eat-your-cookie-because-you-ate-mine_ Bang.

"I didn't raise you to be a drama queen, Fe," Chan grumbles, stumbling into café after Felix. Seungmin curses Chan when the door almost closes in his face, Jeongin's squeaky laughter tinkling in.

"You didn't raise me at all, Channie," Felix huffs, waving the waiter off when he hurries towards their group. He's sure they'd easily find the others with the help of Changbin's fiery red hair alone. _But thanks anyway, mr. Waiter._  
What went down in Changbin's head when he decided to go with that colour, will forever be a mystery. Not like they didn't ask, he always days it's just plain stupid and shuts his mouth.

Seo I-don't-like-attention Changbin with red hair makes zero sense, but okay. Not that Changbin and logic have a very agreeable relationship. So, guess, that wasn't very unexpected.

"I carried you for 9 months, only to be disrespected this way?"

Felix splutters. What was Chan even saying? It doesn't even make half as much sense as Jisung dying his hair only to have it shaved the day after. He face palms, dragging the palm to hide his face under it. God, Chan can be soo embarrassing sometimes. And Chan is always embarrassing! But on a serious note though, have they finally lost Chan to his unhealthy sleep schedule? _How sad? Is that? Watch Felix sob?_

"You better stop embarrassing us, oldman," Jeongin whines when they receive odd looks from the staff members near by.

 _Lord_.

Felix should've really put up a fight. That way at least he would've have stayed home and away from all this headassery. And wouldn't have felt this huge urge to dig hole and crawl in it. Why is Chan like this? Someone come and put this child to sleep, he's in dire need of it. How does Woojin put up with him? Just — _how_?

He spots the red hair before the owner of the red hair spots them, waving them over. In spite of Chan's previous borderline questionable statement, Felix hooks their arms and drags the older make with him.

"You really need sleep, Channie," he says softly.

"What I really need is to get laid. But you little rats won't leave the damn house. And Woojin wouldn't allow me to scare or scar y'all."

"Okay, ew!" He untangles their hand and pushes away from Chan.

"You asked for it!" Chan grips his arm and pulls him back to his side.

"Hey Felix, hey Chan!" Minho chirps, moving to make space for the upcoming crowd.

"Hope we didn't keep you all waiting for too long," Woojin politely says, following after Jeongin into the booth after letting Changbin and Jisung pull him in for a hug.

Felix makes sure to squeeze himself between Woojin and Chan, scooting into the booth right after the Korean, shooting the older Australian a cheeky smile. Chan huffs, sure, but Felix doesn't miss the way his lips tick a little upwards. Yeah, it's great to have a brother wrapped around your pinky finger. He's sure Chan can relate to it too.

"We didn't order anything yet, so feel free to begin ordering!" Jisung exclaims, pushing one of the four menu cards towards Jeongin.

"Jisung and Changbin came just a minute or so before you lot. I have been waiting — by myself, by the way, just saying — for _fifteen_ minutes. I was close to thinking this invitation was some fever dream. Except I don't have a fever."

"That's called being stood up, Minho. It's okay to say you thought we stood you up, old man." And then Jeongin dares to flash an innocent smile at the older dancer.

"The little brat is getting a little too mouthier." Minho grits, hands flying to pull the younger into a choke hold.

They all collectively decide to ignore Jeongin's flailing hands, Minho's _want to try and say that again, you rat_ and the fearful stares the nearby staff members send their way. Felix only looks away from the menu to stares at Jeongin's offending hand when it comes too close to his precious face.

"Where's our prince charming, though?" Seungmin asks, flipping through the menu card, completely ignoring Minho's attempt at choking his soulmate. "Should we have sent him a pumpkin carriage to pick up?"

"His majesty must be getting ready, after all, he's trying to make that first impression worth it." Jisung doesn't seem like he's implying something, but Felix feels his stomach knot a little. Was Hyunjin dressing up to impress him? It's only Jeongin and Felix Hyunjin has yet to meet, after all.

Felix stubbornly stares at the single lost ant that crawls on Chan's jacket, its tiny, dark body contrasting against his brother's white clothing. He continues to stare the poor creature down for exact five seconds before he realises that the ant doesn't belong on a clothing piece and quickly flick it off, making it disappear in the thin air. Well, where it disappeared isn't his concern, so long as it stays away from Chan. _Hmph_!

"There's a long queue on the gas-station, apparently," Changbin mutters, "we really should've sent him a pumpkin carriage." He then turns his phone towards Felix, pointing at the text in which Hyunjin states the reason for his delay, followed by a picture of numerous cars standing in a line. "Please ignore all the crying emojis and keyboard smashes."

Felix smiles a little, too used to Hyunjin's habit of keyboard smashing and sending plethora of emojis at every tiny thing. _'Let me be, Lix! It's Hwang Hyunjin language adgshaha!'_ he had typed, the text immediately followed by several crying emojis and fist emojis.  
He nods though, not wanting to tell the older male how at this point he's surprised at his own ability to detect any coherent text Hyunjin sends amongst the sea of incoherent letters smashed together.

"I'm sure Felix won't mind," Seungmin hums, hiding his evil smile in Jisung's shoulder. The younger Australian decides he's too comfortable to show how much Felix _does_ mind Seungmin's unwarranted comments, however.

"One of these days Felix is going to bury you alive and I won't be even mad," Chan says, pursing his lips when Seungmin throws a peace sign. "Fake bitch."

"Can't wait for that day to come," Changbin mutters. A loud thwack (from Seungmin) and a squeak (from Changbin) later they all settle down, calling truce for the sake of ordering food.

Felix laughs quietly at their antics, sniffing and gesturing Woojin to pass him a few tissues. God, he's going to have a running nose soon. Felix hates colds that end up with a running nose. It ruins his ability to enjoy food he normally enjoys and lets not forget about the four that nag him to clean after himself because _not only is it contiguous, it's also extremely gross for your mucus infused paper pieces to be left around, waiting for someone to step on and spread the slimy and germ induced fluid, Felix!_

He hopes for his cold to not at least worsen over the weekend. It is only third week and he's not interested in missing lectures anytime soon. Not until the first exams pass by.

"We'll order some nice peppermint tea for you okay? It's good for cold." Chan whispers as Felix puts his head down to blow his nose as quietly as possible into his tissue.

"Also, please carry a handkerchief. Trees are too precious to die for you," Seungmin leans over to whisper, eyes wide in faux concern.

Felix just coughs right in Seungmin's face.

"Lee Felix!"

 _Deserved_! 

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
" — and one peppermint tea for Felix, right? Does anyone want to add or change any order?" An obedient chorus of 'no' sounds.

"I want French fries though."

"Yes, Jisung, but we'll first get done with drinks and then we'll move on to food, okay?" Jisung sulks, but agrees. "Okay, then. What should we order for Hyunjin?"

"Hyunjin? Let's order him Milk tea? He has been ordering those a lot recently."

"He only has them whenever he feels like drinking coffee. He's trying to cuts down his caffeine consumption," Felix adds before he even realises he spoke a little too much. Changbin raises his eyebrow, small smirk coming to play on his lips.

_Why can't you keep your mouth shut for once? Now they're going to talk about you and Hyunjin! And we don't want what that, now do we? We don't! Stupid, stupid boy!_

"Oh? So what you recon we get him?" Jisung asks slightly desperately, probably waiting to order his French fries. At least one person looks like he could care less who orders for Hyunjin as long it's done and is out of the way.

"I don't know for sure," he coughs out. Chan's hand his immediately on his back, rubbing soothingly.

_Why can't they just call him instead and ask?_

"Just pick anything random drink, Fe," Jeongin encourages.

"Yeah," Minho agrees, "he'll drink it without complaining if it's from you."

Felix flushes immediately, uprighting the menu card to easily hide his face behind it. The valid and genuinely smart question is forgotten as Felix tries not to blush a little too hard. Why was Minho this forward today. He's never like this. Hyunjin wasn't kidding about Minho teasing him without a trace of a remorse.

Felix nods though and mumbles a drink Hyunjin mostly likely would've picked out.

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Jisung is back to his bright self as soon as Chan confirms French fries as one of their orders. The older Australian flags their waitress down, everyone preparing themselves to correct the older if he gets anything wrong. _Food is important._

Just as Chan begins reciting their orders to a sweet, young looking waitress, the front door chimes. Waitress spares a moment but goes right back to jotting their orders.

The door has chimed on multiple occasions in past twenty minutes and Felix's heart skipped a beat every single time. He'd get stiff and anxious and would relax when Seungmin or Jisung would shake their heads in disappointment. Any of those moments Felix hadn't felt like this. Sure his brain wondered if it was Hyunjin, his heart thumping away at that thought, but otherwise his every other instincts had remained unbothered the whole time. Except for this time.

He feels his body react to it in a way it has never before. All his nerves are set alight, as if they know something is about to happen. He feels his palm sweat and he wipes it against his jeans. He licks his lips, trying to retain some sort of moisture in them; licking never moisturizes them but in this moment Felix couldn't care less. His leg begins bounce on its own, impatiently waiting for that something to happen.

He idly watches the waitress moves along, Chan turning to frown at his brother's odd behaviour. He cocks a brow, "You good, sweet pea?"

Out of habit, Felix smiles back, patting Chan's thigh with his still sweating palm. Then as Chan gets chatted up by Jisung, Felix leans back and closes his eyes.

Images of Hyunjin flash behind his eyelids, the quick flashes have his head spinning. He has never seen Hyunjin face to face and these images looks too clear to be seen through a camera. He snap them open, guilt stirring slightly at the pit of his stomach. He feels like a creep. Hyunjin hasn't even shown up and here is his overactive imaginations running wild. God, what would his soulmate say if they knew Felix was acting like this. Where would he be if Hyunjin had never set foot in his life?

There's this feeling, an intuition, that something big is about to happen. The way his body is acting and the way his heart is trying to break free, it's almost like the whole body knows what it is about and Felix feels like his brain is left out of loop. Except his brain is trying to tell him something but his own worries over his anticipated meeting with Hyunjin blocks it, stops it from communicating with Felix.

They say listen to the gut feeling, but all his gut wants do now is throw up. _Thanks, Mr. Gut._

Seungmin leans out of their booth, face lightening up in recognition. And Felix realises that the one who has been making him question everything he stands for, is actually here. Oh, so his body already knew and thought keeping Felix in dark would be fun? _Your sense of humour sucks, luv._ Jisung hurries to stand up to look at whoever that has arrived — like he has been doing for past twenty minutes every damn time the door chimed. "Ah, he's here,"  Jisung chirps, plopping back in the leather seat and tentatively picking the glass to sip at it.

Felix feels his entire world freeze at the casual statement, confirming what he already drew from Seungmin's reaction. He knew — he knew he was he was going to see Hyunjin, yet why is his heart acting up? This doesn't make sense. His heart beat picks up, all those doubts, all those thoughts of being not good enough comes crashing in.

"Breathe for me, baby," Chan whispers, the weight of his hand on his thighs and warm breathe has Felix immediately snapping out. He nods, counting his breaths as he inhales, counting in his head at every exhale. He runs the tissue lightly under his nose after every exhale. _Running nose is nothing but a pain in the ass._

They all go back to chatting, Minho trying his best to convince Felix to join him for one of the upcoming dance training program next week in Busan. Felix's mind isn't on anything or anyone around him, his cold reducing his basic ability to focus by a grand twenty-five percent. It's still on Hyunjin, worried about their first meet, worried that Hyunjin might behave in a way that'll make Felix's resolve to not give into his temptations crack ever so slightly, if not just crumble. Minho is still babbling, Felix's _no, I don't want to_ not reaching his ears.

"Man! Okay, I'll think about it," he finally caves in. Minho cheers, and then proceeds to 'spill the deets.'

A minute passes, not a single one realising that no Hyunjin turned up at their table. Felix is pretty sure Hyunjin should have made it here by now. The place isn't even that big. Unless, he didn't see them? He's not of Hyunjin's height, and even he could see Changbin's flaming red hair floating in the booth.

Not even meaning to, Felix turns his head slightly to look over their booth. He has his back to the door and the booth seats are pretty high and he concludes quickly that he won't be able to see anything. When he turns back, Minho is already craning his neck to look over their booth.

"Why the fuck is he stood there like a creep?" That grabs everyone's attention.

Chan and Seungmin leans out of their booths from their respective sides to look at whoever that creep was. Changbin doesn't bother, roping Jisung into another tangent about the feeling of absence of hip-hop in the new project track he was working on.

Woojin shakes his head. "I swear, every time I meet him, he gets even creepier."

Seungmin snorts, waving at Hyunjin to hurry up.

"How is he able to still attract people with such absolutely D-I-S-G-U-S-T-A-N-G behaviour," Jisung mumbles, face twisting in disbelief at his friend's ability.

"I — I'm pretty sure that's not how you spell disgusting," Woojin mulls, turning to look at Felix for confirmation.

 _Yeah, sorry Woojin, Felix is in the middle of a crisis, he'll get back to you soon_. Felix continues sitting ramrod straight, hands bunching up the hem of his shirt.

"That's a meme, Wooj, but you're right. That's not how disgusting is spelled. That's how Hyunjin is spelled." Changbin informs innocently.

Jisung pulls back a little, giving the shorter male a surprised look, happy that Changbin actually teamed up with him to clown Hyunjin. "Yoonnnhhh!" He exclaims, urging Changbin to clasp his hand and bump their shoulders together.

While Jeongin, pointing the fork at Woojin, huffs, "Okay, boomer." Woojin doesn't even hesitate to smack his hand on Jeongin's shoulder.

Where the fuck is Hyunjin? What is taking him this long? Don't tell him, is he still standing by the door like a certified creep? And Felix was worried he'd come across as a creep for just thinking about Hyunjin. Why is he even standing by the door without a reason? Felix is personally going to throttle him if he's just being disgustingly dramatic.

He sniffs, picking a new tissue up to blow his nose in. Would Chan allow him to go home earlier than planned? Felix begrudgingly agrees that initially he didn't want to show up solely because he didn't want to meet Hyunjin and get to know him on a level they hadn't gotten to know yet. You could even say Felix was staying away from his true feelings or avoid watering his already growing feelings for Hyunjin, a person not meant for him. But now, as the headache thuds gently at the back of his eyes, one nostril blocked and one running, he just wants to go home and be himself; curl under the blanket, blast some Britney Spears and drink beverages Chan and Woojin make.

"I'll go check on him," Seungmin announces, climbing on his feet and fluffing his jacket out.

No one bothers to reply.

Chan leans into his shoulder. "I'm sorry I grabbed you here even though you are sick. And I hope it didn't worsen —"  Felix sniffs tad bit harshly, "— shit, I'm sorry." Felix sniffs again and pats Chan's head softly. "It is just that, Hyunjin really wanted to meet you. Almost desperately so. He said he _needed_ to meet you, so I made you come. We'll leave soon okay?"

He feels the sneeze crawl up, face already crunching up, ready to sneeze some bad bois out. But it never comes, Felix's face frozen into the pre-sneeze expression. Chan snickers, so he guesses it's fine. Anything to have Chan smiling.

"Did he say why he needed to meet m—"

"Oh. My. Gosh. Yes! Finally, his majesty has blessed us all with his presence!" Jisung wails dramatically, suiting the title of dramatic Hyunjin's equally dramatic best friend.

Two pair of pants make an appearance in his peripherals, Felix immediately taking to pointedly stare at the salt shaker. Seungmin's legs clad in white jeans slides into the booth, leaving space for the owner of the delicious looking pair of thicc legs clad in ripped black pair of jeans.

He hasn't even seen Hyunjin properly and he's already drooling. _You had one job, Felix, one job._

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Introducing Hyunjin to Felix and Jeongin goes as smoothly as possible with Jeongin feeling particularly sassy today. Hyunjin smiles like he was here to steal Felix's entire being and have him wrapped around his pinky finger. Felix shoots a smile in return, completely missing the awe and fond expression settling on Hyunjin's face because he was too busy acting like Hyunjin's presence wasn't affecting him even a tiny bit.

Hyunjin attempts starting a few conversations with the younger Australian, Felix's one worded flat answers demotivating him from starting any more. But Woojin, sweet, sweet Woojin, takes over them, successfully pulling the atmosphere away from a weird pool of awkwardness Felix had unintentionally managed to create.

Felix knew Hyunjin was gorgeous, the mole under his eyes to the tongue-between-his-teeth smile only adding details to his boundless beauty. Everything is just soo handsome about him and Felix can't help but get roped into the this spell, can't help himself from growing feelings for a walking specimen of beauty and power.  
But, for someone who has been itching to write poems about Hyunjin's undeniable, untainted and incomparable beauty, Felix has surely done a piss-poor job of looking at the muse of those poems.

It seems almost impossible for him to actually look at Hyunjin face to face without feeling the want to throw himself out of the nearest window because, quoting Taylor Swift, ' _You're so gorgeous that it actually hurts.'_

Wait, actually he can quote the entire song, besides a few parts ( _duh_!). Imagine Taylor Swift as Felix Lee in an alternative universe, describing her infatuation towards a guy who isn't her significant other, thinking about how gorgeous the guy, how him touching her hand in a darkened room isn't doing too good for heart. Saying how if he has a girlfriend, she's jealous of her and promptly proceeding to say if he doesn't, then that's honestly worse.

And, _wowza_ , can Felix relate to it like he himself wrote the lyrics and forgot about it. If his life was a movie, that song would definitely would've been the title track.

"Sorry," Hyunjin says, when their hands touch as both of them reach for the tissue. _How cliché._ Felix nods, pushing the stand for Hyunjin to take first. And he flashes Felix a sweet smile, eyes disappearing into tiny moons and teeth on display. Felix has seen this exact smile through the screen, yet it apparently hadn't prepared him for the real deal. He almost melts then and there. (Damn it.)

Before we move on from Taylor Swift describing Felix's situation better than Felix himself, he absolutely wants to let everyone know that Hyunjin is soo gorgeous, Felix just might sink and drown and die. _Ting_! 

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
"Here you go. We're sorry for the inconveniences caused. These are on the house, by the way," Tim, Get Cool's manager, says apologetically.

He gestures Natasha, their waitress, to put the tray on the table and she puts the tray filled with a few snacks right beside their tray of drinks.

"Is your cook okay, though?" Felix asks, lips downturned at the reminder of the cause of inconvenience. He really doesn't mind the inconvenience, he just hopes the cook is fine and not too badly hurt.

Natasha scurries off to welcome new set of customers, leaving Tim behind, smiling a little crookedly at the nine of them.

"Minhyung, one of other staff, took Taeyong, our cook, to hospital. The cut is deep and won't stop bleeding, probably will have to get a few stitches. Nothing to worry, hopefully. Since his blood got on several of our ingredients, we've to open a new stash and start other things from scratch."

Hyunjin places his hand on the stressed out manager's arm. "It's okay. Take your time. Inconvenience is welcomed as long as the staff are safe."

To Felix's surprise Tim doesn't react the way people, _allegedly_ , tends to react when interacting with Hyunjin. He watches as the man genuinely looks worried and stressed. His eyes widen when another bigger group enters. He turns to look at their table, his apologetic smile back on his lips.

"Thank you soo much for understanding. I can assure you Taeyong won't be seeing this kitchen until he's fully recovered." He bows, shooting Chan, Felix, Changbin a smile before scurrying off to attend to the group.

Tim had put quite a few items on the tray for them to chew on as Get Cool got their rhythm back in the kitchen. _Is it a bad time for Felix make a joke about how they should change their name to 'Get Cook'?_

"This is yours," Seungmin says as he picks a cup from between the tall glasses of various drinks and carefully pushes it toward Felix. "And this one for the love of my life," he says in overly sugary voice, picking up a bluish-purple coloured drink, pieces of - what Felix can only guess - cherries floating around.

Jeongin hurriedly picks up the glass, slurping through the straw even before it has safely made into his hold. Woojin scowls, side eyeing the kid when Jeongin doesn't pull the drink to his own side, water that had been clinging on to the glass dripping and pooling in front of Woojin.

Felix giggles, slumping into Woojin, as the older Korean all but pushes the glass unto Jeongin's surprised face, eliciting a yelp.

Hyunjin sighing loudly draws his attention. He looks at the way Hyunjin twirls the straw between his elegantly long fingers. _Wowza, look at those fingers_. "He didn't smile at me," he says, looking tiny bit dejected.

 _Oh_? Was Hyunjin hoping for something from the hand-on-your-arm move and a few words of assurance? Not to be petty or anything but Felix is pretty sure at least a quarter of this shop's customers must have flirted with the handsome manager. Tim looks good, and the fact that he was not that much older than them, only made him more approachable.

Seungmin looks up from where he has been piling Changbin's plate with each kind of snacks. He looks straight at Felix, Felix looking back at him. They just stare, Seungmin waiting for his friend to show any signs of discomfort and Felix staying still to let the male know he can sit through this.

"Yeah, well, if I was him I would be distracted by Felix too," Jeongin chimes.

Hyunjin's face clouds for a split second before he's smiling smug.

Has Hyunjin always been like this? Now, if he thinks back to their first 'meeting', Hyunjin did pass a comment about how good he looks. And something about being his _senpai_? Hyunjin practically flirted with him even before he knew who Lee Felix was. And had notched it up after knowing who Lee Felix was.  
Why is Felix even surprised. He is always flirting with Felix, a single day hasn't passed without his over the top flirty comment.

Changbin, Jisung and Minho act like this a norm for Hyunjin. Why is he even feeling disappointed? _Stupid Felix._

Just because he doesn't flirt with their friends, Felix just thought Hyunjin flirting with someone he doesn't even know, was a one time thing. And here he is, watching Hyunjin flirt in a third person's point of view. Y'know, fun stuff.

"I mean, I would too, so I guess that's fair," he replies, winking at Felix.

Jisung chokes on the French fries he had begged Tim to get, Changbin pulling the glass away from the younger rapper's reach.

"Bin, give him the damn glass! I'm not very keen on having him die on us here!" Woojin yells, pinching at the younger male's wrist.

"Mood," Seungmin agrees.

"What, my soulmate dying is a mood, you little rodent?" Minho barks, waving his fork towards the younger.

"He meant to agree with Hyunjin. We were talking about that before Jisung interrupted a wholesome conversation with his disgusting choking," Jeongin grumbles.

And Minho and Jeongin repeat what they had been doing before they had called truce; trying to kill each other.

They let out a collectively tired sigh, again tuning them out.

"Okay, back to what I was saying," Hyunjin whines, clasping his hands like he was talking about something revolutionary.

"God, I feel bad for your soulmate already," Chan says, stealing the last fry before Jisung can fathom that there's only one fry left on the plate. "I really hope they don't stumble upon you flirting up a storm."

Something shifts in Hyunjin, Felix just knows that. He doesn't even know why or how he knows that, but he just knows something changed. Maybe due to the way Hyunjin clenched his jaw or the way he narrows his eyes in a very predatory way or the short second glare he shoots. Or maybe it is the feeling deep in his guts that's telling him that Chan's comment didn't sit well with the business management student.

"Well, Chan, I hope my soulmate —" his eyes trails to look Felix into his eyes, his eyes sparkling, "— knows that they're all just passing distraction and that they don't even mean half as much as my soulmate means. I'll show my soulmate that he's the one for me. He's my ride or die. I hope my soulmate knows just how much I love him and I'll literally bend backwards just to have him smiling. There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for him."

 _Oh_.

Was — Did he just refer Felix as his passing distraction?

 _Of fucking course he did!_ He just went on a whole tangent about how there's nothing he wouldn't do for his soulmate, meaning he's waiting for his soulmate and that he's just enjoying his ride to his destination. Which also means Felix isn't his destination. Which means Hyunjin never saw him as anything but a friend he wouldn't mind flirting with — _platonic flirting, is that even a thing?_

Wow, Felix feels appreciated.

He feels the ugly feeling of unwanted, unworthiness climbing up his throat, a throw back to what he felt before he cut ties with his father, before he met the three of the four angels in his life. Wow, it's been a while since someone he trusted, someone he liked has made him like this. He almost forgot how it felt.

"Did you just assume your soulmate's gender?" Jisung screeches, contorting his face to look the like the screaming man.

"Nonbinary people wants to know your location," Chan inserts.

Poor Woojin looks and sounds lost throughout the ordeal, "What? I don't get it? Why would nonbinary people want to know where this lizard stays?"

"LizaRD—"

"Lizard people are a thing after all —"

"I'm wheezing, please—"

"The disrespect to my glamorous face —"

"The boomer in full bloom—"

And from there on the whole conversation goes off the rails. But Felix's hurting heart didn't allow Felix to forget about it, didn't forget that Hyunjin practically outright told him he was nothing but a mere distraction.

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Sure Felix doesn't know Hyunjin that well outside their texts, regular calls and video calls. _That_ Hyunjin is a Hyunjin that's relaxing in the comforts, _that_ Hyunjin is warm wrapped in his blanket, _that_ Hyunjin is a Hyunjin that's only interacting with one person and giving his entire attention to one.

This? This Hyunjin is different.

This Hyunjin is still relaxed, but he's with his friends. This Hyunjin has his toned arms on display, garnering attention from tons of people. This Hyunjin is interacting with all their friends, mercilessly dragging Jisung and making all of them laugh until their stomach hurts, not failing to make Felix feel warm from inside. This Hyunjin is giving his attention to his surroundings, to his friends and to Felix too.

This Hyunjin is the most real Hyunjin, not hiding in his room and introducing Felix to his plushie friends. This Hyunjin isn't putting an act to string Felix into falling for him, though Felix is pretty sure he would have fallen for Hyunjin even if the older hadn't flirted with him or given him special attention.

Now that we're clear how less of Hyunjin Felix knows, let's also make clear that Felix, in spite of it all, is sure Hyunjin is acting very fishy.

He's happy and laughing one minute, next minute he's talking in a very puzzling manner, looking straight at Felix, communicating something only by his eyes. Yeah, _Sikes_ , Felix's ability to read body language is in shambles and hence cannot understand what Hyunjin has been trying to say without saying.

_Can we get an F in the chat, please?_

One minute he's flirting with either Natalia or Tim and next minute he's back to insisting that he hopes his soulmate knows they are all passing distraction and _blah blah blah._ And he makes sure to look at Felix when saying this and every time he does it, the knife that had wedged drives a little deeper into him.

One minute he's flirting with Felix, comparing his freckles to the stars in sky, how one of his freckles resides on his own face right under his eye in from of a mole. One minute he's praising his beauty and next minute he's back to saying how nothing will compare his soulmate's beauty.

One minute he's making Felix feel all warm and fuzzy and next minute he's making Felix feel like an absolute worthless piece of shit.

One minutes he's raising Felix's hopes and next minute he's crushing them with his bare hands.

He doesn't know what to do at this point.

He just wants to get the hell out of here. He knew it was all too good to be true.

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
"Why aren't you even talking to me?" Hyunjin asks eventually.

Felix doesn't like this Hyunjin. For some reason, along the way, his usual playful self had morphed into intentionally poking fun where it hurts. And Felix wouldn't mind on any other occasion, but today it seems like Hyunjin is on a mission to prove something — calling Felix beautiful, saying whoever he's with would be lucky, implying that Felix is just a mere time pass and means nothing. What he's trying to prove is beyond Felix's pea-sized brain's capability.

Felix is tired. His nose running, the skin under his nose sensitive and irritating him to no ends. The overwhelming feeling of something is wrong, a gut feeling that he should choose his soulmate, a voice trying to pursue Felix into telling Hyunjin about his feelings — _which, Mr. Voice, did you not hear Hyunjin sing verses of his love for his soulmate?_

Felix thinks it's only fair that Hyunjin gets a taste of his medicine.

"I would, Hyunjinnie, if you weren't this hyper focused on trying to get either Tim or Natalia to give you their numbers."

He harshly pulls a spring roll from Changbin's hand and bites into it, leaving the older male to just watch the younger in shock. Changbin shrugs and lets Felix have the last roll before their meals, which they paid for, would come. Changbin is nice. Why didn't Felix fall for him, instead? Would've saved him so much trouble.

Hyunjin's eyes darken slightly, a small smirk dancing on his lips.

Unaware of the growing tension between the two, the entire table guffaws, booing and hollering at the roast. They all immediately sober up when Tim shoots them a pointed glare, and Felix would've laughed at the reaction if he wasn't so caught up in Hyunjin's captivating eyes.

"Why, Baby doll, are you jealous? It's okay, I've my eyes only on you," he purrs, eyes hooded and tongue coming out to lick his lip suggestively.

Felix grimaced. He doesn't _understand_ Hyunjin. On one hand he says he loves his soulmate and on the other hand flirts with other people. Is this acceptable in this system?

He feels his blood boil, the steam of it reaching his head. He clenches his jaw in sheer annoyance, eyes close to rolling at the back of head at how hard he wants to roll them. He really doesn't like himself for liking Hyunjin. Shit man, can't he convince his heart to wait for his soulmate? If not that then can he at least project his affection for this jerk, on to Changbin?

He settles on scoffing hard on his face, his blood calming down a little when a flash of hurt shows in Hyunjin's face. "You wish, sweet pea. I don't have a reason to be jealous of Tim and Natalia. I'm not even your soulmate."

Hyunjin's smug facade slips in a nanosecond, shock and disbelief crystal clear on his face. His jaw drops open, skin losing colour as the seconds pass by.

Felix feels guilty, wondering if he took Hyunjin's playful jabs to heart. And if he was too harsh with his comment. But his comment wasn't even hurtful, not even slightest? Why is Felix feeling this guilty.

Excusing himself, he goes off to order himself a cup of ginger tea.

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Felix will argue till his death that what he said wasn't even in the lightest hurtful. But the way Jisung and Minho have taken to treat him, is hurtful. Saying things in a shady manner has, so far, managed to land a hit to Felix's already crumbling confidence.

Changbin, though silent, hasn't done anything from stopping Jisung and Minho throw light but spiteful shade at Felix. Chan, Seungmin and Jeongin have been standing up for Felix undeterred, throwing twice as much shade right back, Jeongin letting his tongue run a little too savagely each time Felix finches.

Woojin, bless him, has been smiling cheerfully throughout, completely unaware of the invisible dagger throwing competition that's taking place over this head.

And Hyunjin - _oh, God, Hyunjin_ \- has been quite throughout the time. Not looking at Felix, only opening his mouth to either contribute in the teasing or initiating a leg pulling. And Felix would rather see him back to poking Felix where it hurts.

_Lord, Felix is just a failure, huh?_

⭐⭐❇⭐⭐

  
Jisung and Minho have calmed down significantly. Felix doesn't know if this is going to be the calm before the storm. But what Felix knows is, this meeting was definitely a bad idea.

"Honestly, Chan's reaction to knowing his soulmate is in the same vicinity as him, will never be _not_ hilarious."

Chan sulks besides Felix, sliding down the chair a little so that he could hide his face in his brother's shoulder. "I didn't plan to meet my soulmate like that. Otherwise I would've impressed him on our first meeting itself!"

"Oh yeah?" Woojin eggs on, "What would you have done to impress me?"

Felix watches as Hyunjin's irritation reaches a new level. _What was up with him_? Changbin leans a little closer and hisses something into the younger male's ears, plastering a sweet smile right after, as if he hadn't probably just threatened to throw him out of the window.

Over the time Hyunjin went from mopping stealthily to looking agitated and angry. And it is scaring Felix. Though he's yet to say or do anything hurtful, it is clear that he has been holding himself back from punching someone. He really hopes this isn't the real Hyunjin. He also hopes he isn't the one Hyunjin wants to punch.

"I was planning on using a cute pick up line. But I didn't exactly expect to run into Woojin when I was surviving on two energy drinks, five cups of coffee and three sleepless days. So, yeah."

"I'm, frankly speaking, happy you didn't use the pick up line." Changbin makes a relived face. "Probably we wouldn't have been here, witnessing you two get all lovely dovey with each other, otherwise."

Chan doesn't react. Like, at all. And that makes Felix wonder how many times Chan has been the butt of Jisung and Changbin's jokes. Should Felix avenge for his brother? Not that he doesn't enjoy their dragging-Chan-at-any-opportunity agenda, just so you know, but someone's gotta do the younger brother duty.

"Felix, what would you say to your soulmate when you meet them?" It is Minho that asks. That automatically puts him on alert.

And _that_ question is what gets Hyunjin's attention, his scowl immediately melting to show something akin to anticipation and hope. Hope? Maybe Felix was reading it all wrong. This is his first time seeing Hyunjin this unguarded, he must have read him wrong.

Felix acts like he doesn't notice the way Hyunjin Jisung, Changbin and Minho perk up, all abandoning eating to pay attention to what Felix has to say to his soulmate. _They're strange,_ Felix decides, not that he didn't know. But this is a very _sus_ behaviour, you know?

Seungmin looks at Hyunjin confused, judging his fidgety mannerisms. Felix ignores, nibbling on the chicken nugget.

Just to be spiteful and petty, Felix considers telling them how he wants to tell his soulmate how much they mean to him, how he has been waiting for just their arrival, too busy to even look at anyone that didn't smell like Jasmin (wow, why does Felix sound like he's trying hard to climb over Hyunjin's level of creepiness?) and how no one will ever mean half as much to him as they will. He entertains it, still nibbling on the nugget. It's a lie, yes, but none of them know that.

Before Felix can open his mouth and spill something cheesy, deciding that the monologue sounded too unauthentic — something along the line of, "I want to thank them for being there for me even without being here." — Seungmin beats him to it.

Seungmin huffs mischievously, mirth dancing in those dark orbs. He maintains Felix's haze. "Felix doesn't believe in soulmate, didn't you know that? He rather fall for someone who'll willingly choose him and not get stuck with someone who he has never meant to choose. So, he'll probably say something like _'Hey, since you're my soulmate, we can't be together! But I still hope you have an amazing life!'_ " Seungmin and Jeongin snicker, sharing a high five at that.

Felix grumbles offended. "Assholes. I'll never say that."

"Stop lying, child. You and I both know you'll say that. But since you're too nice, um, maybe you'll act like they're not even your soulmate? Instead of saying it?" Jeongin adds, tapping his chin in a thoughtful way — Felix can just tell that Jeongin should never pursue an acting with that shitty skill.

Felix would've liked to point out several flaws in what Jeongin said, even though he'll never reject his soulmate let alone act like he doesn't know they're his soulmate. How is Felix to act like he isn't a person's soulmate if _they_ approach _him_?

"Oh?" Minho squeaks.

Chan throws a hand across his younger brother's shoulder, bringing his face closer to Felix's. "Son," he rasps, voice breaking a little at his attempt at deepening the voice. "Soulmates are vampires out there to just suck the happiness out of your life. They're nothing but pests. Beware!"

Felix stifles a giggle at Chan's poor attempt of mimicking their father. Jaehyung Lee didn't sound like that; his voice was almost hollow, emotionless, his ' _greater than thou'_ attitude very much audible in the manner he spoke, and he himself stunk of arrogance.

Chan coughs when the voice changing stunt takes a toll on his vocal chords, Hyunjin passing him a glass of water to soothe his throat.

"Easy there, old man," Seungmin whispers, hand reaching out to touch the _old man_ 's hand in concern. Chan swats his hands, offended.

The tables fades into a silence after that, the waitress coming to drop their orders off.

Felix makes himself busy with his spring rolls, not even noticing Chan and Jeongin stealing two rolls each for themselves from his plate.

What else goes unnoticed is the confused and concerned glances Jisung, Minho and Changbin share, left out of the joke, hence taking it as Felix's true view on this system. What also goes unnoticed is the way Hyunjin's face falls, the realisation of some kind spreading across his face.

Felix and Seungmin share another round of giggle when the younger Korean chirps with a sudden, "Soulmate who? Don't know her."

"Lix," Changbin calls, leaning a little closer, eyebrows furrowed and face scrunched in a very concerned manner. That immediately sets Felix's on edge. _Did Felix do something?_

"Y-yeah?"

"Is - That - I mean —"

"Are you really going to drop your soulmate for someone you love? Without giving your soulmate a chance?"

Is Felix going to choose Hyunjin over his soulmate? Is Felix going to choose someone who he knows and has come to like over someone he doesn't know? Is Felix going to not make the mistake his parents had made over following the path his brother and best friends took?

"Minho, please shut up—"

What if he fails to love his soulmate? Giving his soulmate a chance only to realise he has already given his heart to someone who isn't meant to be with him, is that not going to hurt his the one? Isn't that him leading his soulmate on? Giving them hope, when Felix very well knows there is none?

"What? I'm looking out for —"

Felix telling him that he's giving them a chance solely because they're his soulmate isn't kind of an asshole move?

"Please —"

Is Felix a fucker for hoping to not just meet his soulmate instead? Will that be too much to ask for?

A sharp sound of a cutlery hitting the ceramic plate snaps him out of his space. His eyes search for the source of the sound, eyes dancing from Changbin to Jisung, finally coming to a stop on Hyunjin's. His eyes widen when he realises the Korean's eyes are welled up, his skin blotching slightly. He looks shocked, heartbroken and hurt? Why is he hurt? Does he feel sympathy for Felix?

Of course, Hyunjin was going to wait for his soulmate. Felix was just a passing distraction till he met his soulmate. Oh, how envious he is of Hyunjin's soulmate.

"Felix," Chan trails off, drawing Felix's attention. He looks hurt as well, a soft, sympathetic look gracing his face right after —

Oh.

Felix thought out loud.

They all heard it.

"Did you mean it—"

Jisung gets cut off by Hyunjin standing up abruptly, his shoulders broad, eyes narrowed and fingers grasping the table tight. The tears in his eyes don't make him look any less intimidating, towering over them, face set in a harsh and cold glare.

He bends closer to Felix, to come face to face with Felix, eyes narrowed and lips raised in a snarl. Felix's heart  breaks at the pure look of disgust and disappointment directed at him.

"No wonder you've been sitting there like a fucking bastard," he spits, voice wavering a little. "All this while you knew and yet you thought acting clueless would be good?"

Felix blinks up at Hyunjin, his heart stopping as Hyunjin continues talking. He feels his stomach drop, tears threatening to make an appearance and sob crawling up his throat.  
Even as Seungmin stands up to tame Hyunjin, Felix's eyes doesn't leave Hyunjin's.

"Hyunjin what are —"

"Seungmin just _shut up_ for a moment, will you? This isn't between you and I, this is between Felix and I. And I rather you _don't_ interfere."

Felix gulps the sob down. He feels like crying and begging for Hyunjin's forgiveness, apologising over and over for whatever Felix did to set him off, to get him this mad, to feel this disgusted by Felix.

"I've waited for you, Felix, for my entire dang life and you were going to throw me away just because we were fated?"

At that exact second, Felix feels his world crumbling down. His heart isn't trudging against his chest and he doesn't know if he's still breathing. His head is empty of all thoughts, hyunjin words on a loop. The distinct ringing in his ears is getting louder, and everything around him has begun blurring. Hyunjin's face is also floating in front of him. Black dots started dancing in his vision, eyes getting heavier each second.

Hyunjin is his soulmate. Hyunjin, the one his heart had been going wild for, is the one he is fated to be with. Hyunjin wasn't telling Felix he was just a passing attractions, he was the soulmate Hyunjin had been taking about. Felix was meant to be with Hyunjin. Felix's crush was his own soulmate.

His heart leaps to his throat, the fact that he doesn't have to choose between Hyunjin and his soulmate, has his heart doing somersaults. Felix feels almost relived before realising the mess he had given rise to. He blinks rapidly to stay conscious.

"Felix, I'm sorry, but you're one pathetic person. One of the most disgusting people out there. I hope _you_ have an amazing fucking life with someone who you love. God, how I wish I never met a fucker like you! Never talk to ever again." And Hyunjin turns to leave. But he turns around again. And Felix gets to see his face clearly now. Eyes are welled with tears, turning red at the rims. "Honestly, fuck you. You don't deserve me. Go to whoever you love."

And he's gone just life that, storming out of the shop, unbeknownst to himself taking away Felix's entire heart and all the love he had been saving for his soulmate.

His heart drops to his stomach. Felix had messed up. Fucked up something that was precious to him, something that meant world to him. Ruined everything with someone he would do anything for.

"I — I fucked up."

_**Well, That Happened.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Some of the thoughts that Felix has when sick don't link to one another and that was intentional. It's all jumbled and he's sick. 
> 
> 2\. Later on, after waking up, he doesn't speak about all his previous thought process, it's because he can't remember any of it.  
> I personally never had a panic attack, and this is written by keeping in mind a few things one of my friend told me.  
> So if there are inaccuracies, please don't hesitate to correct me. 
> 
> 3\. Due to cold, fever and Felix being constantly anxious, he doesn't realise that Hyunjin is his soulmate. He can't smell. And the barely there scent of Jasmin that's in the air due to Hyunjin's presence, isn't registered by him. 
> 
>  Also if the last segment looks rushed then just know that it was kind of rushed. I was hoping to finish this before the end of this year!❤
> 
> Comment down below anything you want to comment on, and don't forget to leave a kudo! 💜 
> 
>  
> 
> ~Jade

**Author's Note:**

> What you guys think of their friendship so far?


End file.
